Hunter's Blood Part I
by russianspy
Summary: Two female hunters follow a false werewolf trail into Bon Temps and get into a shitload of trouble. They discover the existence of Valkyries. And there's one that's after Eric.
1. Outlaw Man

**This is a season two AU. **

**Photo references of characters available in my profile.**

**Please let me know if you enjoy it! Review! I love hearing what you think!**

* * *

I am an outlaw, I was born an outlaw's son  
The highway is my legacy  
On the highway I will run  
In one hand I've a Bible  
In the other I've got a gun  
Well, don' you know me  
I'm the man who won  
Woman, don't try to love me  
Don't try to understand  
A life upon the road is the life of an outlaw man

~The Eagles

* * *

It was hard to tell if they were in the U.S. anymore. It wasn't even a gravel driveway that the 69' silver Camaro pulled up on, but a flat space of hard packed earth. In all fairness, there were patches of black top here and there, but the yellow lines that delineated the parking spots had long since faded into oblivion.

The bar itself was rundown, completely country, and fit the rustic atmosphere perfectly. Between the pickup trucks, beat-up sedans, and the warm yellow lighting that emanated from inside, there was no doubting the type of people the two women would find inside.

"I bet the juke box is still working after three decades," commented the blonde from the passenger seat as she looked through the windows of the building.

People were seen playing pool, eating, and sitting at the bar. Women in tight white t-shirts were darting around with serving trays piled high with food.

"How much you want to bet there's a moose head on the wall?"

The driver scoffed and opened her door, got out of their car. "I bet they'll all be too drunk to answer any questions. We should've gotten here earlier, Lil," she said. Still, she produced a U.S. Wildlife Service badge from inside her coat.

Lillian shrugged and shifted her hand to her back jeans pocket to be sure that she was carrying her own badge. "Well, Marylin, maybe their tongues will be a little looser if they're drunk."

"Maybe."

When they entered the establishment, the expected leers and stares came their way. But the newcomers were prepared to face the inebriated hicks, who clearly knew what out-of-towners looked like. Two women, one dusty blonde, Lillian, and one dark brunette, Marylin-the former a bit taller with wavier, longer hair. Marylin was the serious one. She led. They had let the screen door slam behind them, then they stood there in front of it for a moment or two, taking in the ambiance.

Those stares, mostly hazy though. Induced by alcohol and cigarettes, the smell of which mixed with the smell of food. Plates full of it high on trays carried from the kitchen, table to table, by what appeared to be a shortage of waitresses. And the Bar and Grill was packed tonight.

Marylin and Lillian made a determined beeline to the bar.

A tall, thin woman with a horrible red dye-job smiled at both before busily putting together another order. She quickly glanced to the right towards where the kitchen entrance was. After no one ran to receive the new customers, she gave a frustrated sigh.

"Hi there. What can I gitcha?"

Lillian had followed the waitress' gaze and let her brown eyes roam the restaurant.

Marylin smiled politely as she showed her badge to the waitress. "Uh, actually ma'am, we're not here to order anything. We're here to ask a few questions. We're from the U.S. Wildlife Service. I'm Agent Gold, and this is my partner."

When the waitress looked at the badge with a puzzled look, her mouth hanging open to catch flies, Lillian took a half step back so that she could see more of the customers.

Suspicion had sprouted across Arlene's face. "Uh-huh…"

These women didn't look like agents judging just by their appearance—it was a little too humid for the jeans and jackets they wore, there where they were in the bayou. But they certainly had some sort of authority with the way they carried themselves. Out-of-towners indeed.

A moment later something clicked in Arlene's head and her hands dramatically went to her heart.

"Oh! Yer here because of that woman, arenchu?" Fear replaced the suspicion at once. She stepped closer to the rangers and whispered sharply: "It'sa beast, in't it? I just knew it was! I told Sam that he needed to take care of it. I told him that somethin' was lurkin' around here. I could feel it! Evre'time I went out there, I could feel it. Watchin' me. Like some-like some—"

Marylin was only given a brief warning by way of Lillian lightly tapping her ankle with the toe of her boot when Sam, the owner of the place, appeared behind them.

"Arlene, what are you goin' on about?"

The shaggy, brown-haired man looked between the two women to his now frantic waitress.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked, hands braced on his hips.

Agent Gold turned around to face him, flipping out her badge again.

"I'm Agent Gold. As I've told your employee, my partner and I are from the U.S. Wildlife Service. We're just here to ask some questions, that's all. About what happened not too long ago." The woman straightened slightly under the owner's cautious eyes. "Can we get just a few minutes of your time?"

One of the man's eyebrows rose in silent question. Then he sighed and held his arms out before abruptly letting them drop to his side. "Do we have to do this now? We're in the middle of a rush."

"We're sorry, Mr. Merlotte," said Lillian with a small, honest smile. "We realize this isn't a good time for you, but we really do need to figure out the situation."

"Well—can you come back tomorrow?" He looked tired, bags under his hooded eyes. It seemed like it had been a long day. He was visibly anxious. "If you come during the day, there's hardly ever anyone here."

The agents exchanged quick glances at each other, Marylin's own expression tightening just a smidge. They just got there so it would be stupid to leave.

"Alright then, Mr. Merlotte. We'll come back tomorrow." Marylin would've persisted if it weren't for the man's unease and the late night. "I suppose for now we'll just have to have our dinner here instead."

As though realizing he got annoyed for no reason, he smiled with a stiff nod and gestured to an empty booth.

"Yeah of course. It's on the house, Agents. Daphne will be your waitress." Another nod and Sam disappeared into the back of the restaurant quicker than he had arrived. And that gave cause for Marylin to shoot her partner a discreet "_I told you so_" look. She followed her to the table, while the waitress Arlene anxiously watched them go before resuming her tasks again.

Marylin pointed to a table of laughing old geezers and offered, "I guess we could try those guys. Though I doubt we'll have much luck."

Lillian looked over at the men and smirked. "There's gotta be something around here." She couldn't help but glance out the window. She reminded herself that it was only their first day there, and they had literally just pulled into the town before coming to _Merlotte's_. Long, tiring drive.

Marylin grabbed the menu to idly scan it, just as a ditzy blonde woman arrived at their table, huffing from the runs of orders she just had made.

"Hiya, I'm Daphne. What can I get ye two?" She quickly took out a notepad from her apron to jot down their orders. "We got some specials t'day, if you might be interested. Clam Cajun Gumbo and uh…" she had to pause to remember and laughed slightly, furrowing her delicate brow. "And our…Boudin an' Sweet Potato Combo! I think that actually comes with a side of coleslaw and biscuit too, but I'm not sure."

"I'll just have a prime rib dip sandwich and an ice tea. Thanks," Lillian said with a smile, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. It was women like _that_ who gave blondes a bad name. If she hadn't been confident in her own intelligence, Lilly just might have felt uncomfortable.

Daphne nodded, bit her lip, wrote the order down, then turned to Marylin, whose face was rather impassive. "And you, miss?"

"I'll have a burger with a coffee, thanks. Black."

"Okeydokey…" It took Daphne another several moments to jot everything down. "And that'd be it? Nothin' else?"

"Nope."

"Alright. I'll be back in a jiffy, girls." The waitress smiled a wide smile that seemed to justify her stupidity further and trotted away without another word.

Lillian saw the look on her friend's face and rolled her eyes. "Smile, Mar, your face might freeze like that." It was true that the night was slow for them, but that was no reason they couldn't take a moment to relax. "Tomorrow we'll come back and see if we can pick up a trail, and ask Merlotte some questions."

"Yeah." Marylin was just tired. Well, that's what the coffee was for. Cases called for complete alertness. "Then, maybe we can head to the sheriff's station and get their report and see the body."

"Yes, that's always fun," Lillian replied sarcastically. Though she knew it was something that had to be done.

* * *

_Sookie gets attacked by the beast… Meanwhile, Lillian and Marylin were tracking it down after dinner, thinking it was their werewolf. They watched from the distance, then followed after Bill and Sookie to…_

_Fangtasia._

The building seemed to be a vampire's nest, or rather a raunchy, sleazy nightclub that was opened to all to dared. Though, other than vampires, what person in their right mind would frequent it, let alone even step on its property was beyond the two hunters. Either way, the attacked girl was supposed to be inside, for the tire tracks led to here, and the hunters only hoped she hadn't yet become dinner. The place appeared to have closed early for the night, standing as silent as a tomb among the haunting, glinting trees of the bayou.

Marylin motioned Lilly to the other side of her, treading cautiously across the muddy ground of the empty parking lot. Their guns were at their sides, loaded with silver bullets should they be attacked. Neither knew what to expect but both had the sinking feeling it was too late.

They slowed around empty bouncer line and stopped before the door, taking deep breaths.

Lilly reached forward and gently tried the handle. Not surprisingly it was locked. Even vampires didn't welcome in random strays at all hours of the night. And there was no point in picking the lock. Even if they did get it open, the vampires would hear their work in process and know they were there.

So it was best to simply do the "honey, I'm home" approach.

Lillian looked back at her friend and nodded her head as she counted down on her fingers. When she reached three, both women lifted their feet and kicked the door with practiced ease. It swung open, the wood around the doorjamb splintering in a cloud of dust.

The inside appeared empty, glowed in a faint red light. Upon second glance, as the dust cleared, the women saw the man hovering the across the room. Immediately, they aimed their guns. He turned in a blur to stand and snarled as they rushed through.

"Step away from the girl, vampire!" yelled Marylin.

Indeed, the girl was out cold on a bench in front of him.

"Step away or you'll be on the ground in two seconds flat!"

Bill's fangs were already extended, his shoulders hunched. In his heavy, southern drawl, he demanded, "What is the meaning of this?"

Lilly looked down her barrel at him and repeated, "She said step away from the girl." Her sight was lined up with the center of his forehead.

The vampire didn't bother replying and suddenly appeared behind them, he was so fast. With a snarl, he grabbed Marylin's arm and wrenched it behind her back.

"You are not welcome here!"

Her gun fell to the floor but a silver blade shot out from her sleeve instead. Nicking the vampire, Marylin was able to shove herself away.

"What the hell are you doing with her?"

The surprise of his skin suddenly burning had caught the vampire off-guard and he grabbed his arm, taking a step back. "What am I doing with her? I am _saving_ her!"

"You think turning her into one of you is going to save her?" Lilly asked, although there was no hostility in her voice.

Bill didn't respond and merely glanced at her before looking back at Marylin. "Who are you? What do you want here?"

"If it bit her, it's already too late," Marylin told him in a rush. "But we need to make sure—"

Yet as she turned to go to the girl, another blur crossed the room in that instant. It stopped in her way, causing her to jump back. A tall, pale but handsome blond man with his own fangs already bare rounded at her and Lilly.

"I thought it was clear that we were closed," he drawled in an accent that was implacable, but much more intimidating.

"You did," Lilly agreed quickly. "But when _he_ brought in an unconscious girl after trying to get her to take his blood, you might as well have hung an "Open for Business sign" on your door for us."

Bill's gaze was locked on the women. "You _will_ leave _now_," he demanded.

"Like hell we will." Marylin gripped tighter the blade in her hand, and Eric's eyes darted briefly to it, the smirk on his face fading by the unspoken threat—prompted by such audacious courage, too!

But their pulses said otherwise.

"Who are you?" he asked and cocked his head, a glint in his eye. "Tell me."

"Lillian King and Marylin Winchester-" Lilly said without missing a beat. Though, as soon as the words left her lips, her eyes narrowed when she realized what he had done. "Please give me a reason," she asked him and adjusted her hand on her still-raised gun.

"What are you waiting for, Eric?" Bill nearly yelled. "They are trespassers here!"

Eric ignored him, finding that Lillian was more compliant, and locked his gaze on her again.

"What are you _doing here_?" he continued.

Marylin fidgeted, resisted the urge to strike the vampire, for the sake of her arm, which he would snap like a branch.

While she fought against his glamour as best she could, Lillian found her mouth moving of its own volition. Her gaze had lost that innocent look and was now replaced by a simmering one. But she never raised her voice even if part of her wanted to spit them out.

"We're here for the girl. Just because she's lost, it doesn't mean _he,_" she glanced at Bill, "has the right to make her last moments even more miserable."

"Hmm…" Now Eric roved his attention to Marylin, and with her he had to try harder.

She gritted her jaw, expression darkening.

"We were hunting the beast, down highway 71. It changed direction and then we heard a scream." Marylin glanced at Bill, who was breathing sharply through his nose. "Then we saw him…trying to _turn her_."

"What?" Bill snarled. "I was most certainly _not_ trying to turn her. I was trying to save her!"

"_Which is what none of you will be doing if you don't get out of my way. Back off, vampire_!"

Both vampires' eyes suddenly darted past the humans, who had jumped. An old woman wearing doctor's scrubs stepped past Bill, who was so shocked, he just watched rather than snapping at her as well.

"You can't save a werewolf bite," Lillian told the woman. Her gun had sagged slightly in confusion when the doctor had come in, but now Lilly lowered it completely to her side.

The woman gave a sharp cackle and pulled up a chair to sit beside Sookie. "Werewolf? I could tell from the door it wasn't a werewolf attack."

"What?" said Marylin. "Yes it was. The moon is up."

"Indeed it is," muttered Eric. He let go of his glamour and strode away from the girls, who he seemed to deem harmless for the moment. If they weren't, they would've attempted something already.

"The moon is up, and the last attack, exactly a month ago on Merlotte's property was on a full moon as well."

The hunters slowly approached the girl as Bill went to her side, and they saw the bite wasn't a bite but in fact a gash, deep and nasty, created by three very big claws.

"Mmhm, and unless your werewolf is missing two fingers and—no, it's definitely not a werewolf bite." The doctor looked the wound over through the bifocals of her glasses and nodded. "Leave the room. I have to remove her clothes to clean the wound."

Bill looked completely loath to leave, but with Sookie already unconscious, there was nothing he could say to her. He gently tucked some blonde hair back off her cheek.

Eric waited on him and gestured for his two other guests to follow as well. "Ladies."

Marylin began to object. "I'd like to talk to the doctor for a min—"

"And I'd like to be on a beach right now instead of surrounded by idiots, but here I am…" the doctor broke in without looking away from her patient.

Lillian blinked at the snarky woman before turning to her friend. They really didn't have a choice, it seemed.

"Mar," she gently said and gestured with her chin to the door Eric stood beside.

Marylin kept the blade hidden in her sleeve and quickly went past his unsettlingly smirking expression. She and Lilly were led to what appeared to be Eric's office, Bill reluctantly joining them.

"Tell me what else you know, if you hunters hope on leaving here after this night is over." Eric glided to the chair behind his desk. He didn't need his suspicions confirmed, but Bill's face conveyed some shock.

"Hunters?"

"Yes, and surprisingly women, Bill. But no need to worry, they don't seem to pose a threat." Eric smirked at the women's scowls.

"Which is why he has to keep trying to intimidate us to try and make himself feel a little less threatened?" offered Lillian sweetly, arching her eyebrows.

"Threatened," repeated Bill with a scoff. He turned away from them all and crossed his arms.

Eric chuckled softly, taking a moment to regard the feisty blonde—all noticeable aspects of her. "Perhaps I find amusement from your reactions," the vampire offered, grinning now. But then he looked at Bill and asked, "Did Sookie tell you what she saw before she lost consciousness?"

The vampire turned around, his face mixed with both confusion and scorn. "Yes. She said she saw…a bull and a human or—it had not made sense."

At his words, Lillian looked over at Marylin. Was the doctor right? There was no way a werewolf could have been confused with a bull.

"A bull?" said Marylin aloud.

"And you didn't see this bull-man?" Eric asked Bill.

"She was alone when I got to her." It was clear he blamed himself, the guilt written all over his face. The hunters could've sworn they saw some sort of attachment for this Sookie, and it startled them.

"Did you try to give her your blood?" said Eric.

"I did but it…did not work. And afterwards she passed out in my arms," Bill replied. "If I would not have argued with her, she would not have gotten out of the car. She would not have been attacked."

"Yes, then we wouldn't be in this mess." Eric looked at the hunters again but didn't address them as he spoke. "Pam, Chow! I thought in all my years I'd seen everything there is to see…"

Out of the corner of their eyes, the hunters saw two blurs at the door—Eric's loyal pets. Their smiles widened at the sight of the humans.

"Well, who do we have here," said the woman called Pam. Hand on her hip, she took a step towards Mar and Lilly, watching their reactions to her bright pink 1960s getup. Eric's voice had to retract her.

"Hunters."

She and Chow bristled. "Oh, eh…"

"I want you two to search the woods around highway 71. Apparently we'll now be hunting the same thing."

"Make him do it," protested Pam lazily, as she thumbed to Chow, who wore a black suit just as immaculate as her dress. "I've got new pumps on."

But Eric let out a low growl and his two chums had no choice but to obey.

"New pumps?" Lillian quietly repeated to Marylin. _Those_ were vampires?

"There is no reason for _them_ to be here, Eric," said Bill with a heated edge. Though Lilly left her calm and easy expression on her face, she did lift her chin in defiance ever-so-slightly. Marylin looked offended.

"Not anymore," Eric agreed. "But we'll be in touch." Just as he stood, they all heard Sookie scream and Bill bolted through the door. Eric began ushering the hunters out of his office and smarmily smirked down at them.

"You're staying in town, correct?"

"Bon Temps. With a loaded arsenal in the trunk." Marylin went past to check on Sookie herself, but when Marylin got there, she saw that the doctor was already finishing up. "How is she doing?"

Bill was tenderly holding Sookie's head and arm, and Sookie blearily looked up at Marylin, not recognizing her. "Who-who is she?"

"No one," Bill told her with a tender smile that spoke more words than he was capable of speaking.

Lilly watched the scene with her own quiet shock. Never before had she ever seen a vampire have such feelings for a human.

The doctor stood up. Though she was so short she looked like she was still sitting. "She'll be fine," she told them sternly, and gathered her things. "I'll be waiting for my payment." She headed for the door.

Eric crossed his arms and leaned against the bar counter behind Lillian. "Your services are always appreciated, Dr. Ludwig," he called with a faint lilt of impudence.

"Fuck off," came the doctor's distant reply.

"She's certainly a peach," said Lilly with a small smirk, before she turned back at the girl and her…boyfriend. They were murmuring softly to each other and smiling in their distress and affection. Seeing that there was nothing left for them, Lilly quietly looked at her partner to see if she was ready to go.

Marylin approached the cooing couple, much to Bill's growing irritation.

"We're staying at the motel in your town. Sookie, uh, when you're better, Lilly and I would like to talk to you sometime about what you saw? If that's alright with you..." Sadly Sookie seemed slightly out of it but nodded dazedly to Marylin. "We're here to help. We're going to find the thing that attacked you."

Lillian stepped up beside her partner so that Sookie knew they were both dedicated to the task.

"I know it seems like a bad time and it might be hard to think about, but we _do_ just want to help you and stop this thing. Okay?" This was too Bill as well, who glared at them. "Try and get some sleep and feel better," she added gently.

"O-okay," replied Sookie, smiling crookedly. "Thank-thank you."

Bill made low, rough sound in his throat to signal their departure, and Eric watched the hunters from under his brows. Despite the misfortune that night, the hunters still left him amused.

"Sorry about the door," Lillian said in her innocent way. But with the way she smiled, she felt differently.

* * *

"_Is it weird that we start out hunting werewolves and wind up finding vampires instead_?"

Once they arrived back at the Bon Temps Inn, Lilly put her gun on the bedside table and then sat to pull off her socks. Neither she nor Marylin knew what to make of the night's revelations.

"Does that mean we're either really good at our jobs, or really bad?" Lilly went on.

Marylin was unloading the mini arsenal that was inside her jacket. "I don't know," she said, "but those fangs are goddamn everywhere and I think working with them is out of the question."

"Do we have a choice?" Lillian pulled off her long-sleeved shirt to reveal a tank-top beneath. "It doesn't look like she'll be leaving that club any time soon and something tells me that one vamp isn't going to be leaving her side."

Marylin grimaced, tried to understand how such a relationship worked. There were numerous others who claimed they were "with" vampires, but neither she nor Lilly could imagine the possibility of relationships like that going beyond sex and usage. Unless Bill was completely glamouring the poor girl.

Marylin thought about it, saying, "She's all alone there… Who knows how many more of them there are."

Lillian just shrugged. "While I know you're right, there's not much we can do about it right now. It was already risky busting into a nest at night. 'Course, we didn't really have much of a choice." Sore from the road and all of the excitement, the blonde fell back on her bed, stretching out, and sighed.

"We can check on her tomorrow."

"We still have to talk to Merlotte," Mar reminded, walking over to sit on the edge of the mattress. "But he's going to want to avoid the subject. He knows something."

"More than likely, but let's be honest with ourselves," Lilly started with a smile and rolled over onto her side to look at her friend. "No one can avoid you for long, Marylin. I think I can count on one hand the amount of times I've been able to distract you from a topic you were serious about."

Smirking, Marylin went to lie down on her own bed. "You're right about that."

"So, if Merlotte thinks he can outlast you, he's in for a surprise." Lilly rolled over onto her back once more. "When do you want to head over there? We should check on Sookie first. See if she'll talk."

The day kept you safe from vampires, so Marylin wasn't worried. But at night, she kept her silver under her pillow, just in case.

"Why don't we split up? Then we'll meet at the Sheriff's station, ask for their reports. Later we'll ask more around town," she offered.

"You want to take Sam and I'll take Sookie?" Lilly said.

"Yeah. We'll save time that way."

"You get the lonesome-looking bar owner, I get the damsel." Scoffing and leaning over to the bedside table, Lilly turned off the light.


	2. Renegade

The jig is up the news is out they've finally found me  
The renegade who had it made retrieved for a bounty  
Never more to go astray  
This will be the end today of the wanted man

~Styx

. . .

Though open for business, _Merlotte's_ really was empty during the day—the party seemed to be elsewhere. But this just left Merlotte with no other excuses and worked to Marylin's advantage. Badge ready once more, the woman marched into the Bar and Grill with high hopes of squeezing out some information. No one could get passed her, not even a cop.

The U.S. Wildlife Service agent was greeted by the waitress from last night, Daphne, and Marylin forced a smile onto her face.

"Hi, I'm back again. Is Mr. Merlotte around? I need to ask him some questions." The badge had Daphne gasping.

"Oh geez, I didn' know you were part of the FBI… Is Sam in some kind of trouble?" Daphne looked genuinely worried.

"No, no, not the FBI. Just the Wildlife Service. And I'd just like to ask him some questions," Marylin said, widening her smile to a tense line. "I spoke to him yesterday."

The ditz looked a bit unsure but nodded. "Oh, okay. Well I'll go get 'em then."

"Thank you." The agent watched Daphne trot to the back, and took a seat at a nearby table. While she waited, the little old man in a booth across from her kept her company.

Unfortunately, Sam kept her waiting nearly fifteen minutes before he finally came out. It was a silent message that said Marylin was not welcome in the capacity that she had come. When he finally sauntered out, he gave her a tight smile and sat in the seat across from her.

"Wasn't sure if you'd show up." A light sweat dotted his brow.

"Well, we're true to our word, Mr. Merlotte, and it's not yet noon," Marylin noticed he must have been exerting himself but she didn't react to it, instead taking out small notebook. "But don't worry, I won't take much of your time."

The man leaned back and put his arms over the back of the booth. He attempted to exude confidence while he raised an eyebrow at an observation. "Where's your friend? Your partner?"

Marylin answered his question unfazed and kept her expression neutral. "She's getting statements of others. We just arrived yesterday, to follow up."

When the confidence thing didn't work, after a moment or two, the man brought his arms back down by his sides. He leaned forward and looked suddenly as anxious as he did the night before.

"Look, I've got a lot of stocking and maintenance work being done right now. Will you just ask your questions? I never knew the rangers to be so thorough. Usually they get it from the police…"

"Well that's why we're doing a follow up, because the case is being reexamined. And also there were other attacks in a couple of areas further north of here. What happened _here_ was not just an attack, it was a killing on your property, Mr. Merlotte," Marylin reminded him in that grave tone she always found effective. "And no sign of the thing that attacked was found afterwards."

His eyes narrowed on her and suspicion flared within them. "What are you getting at? You think I had something to do with this? If no sign of the thing that attacked them was found, why are you here questioning me?"

The corner of Marylin's mouth quirked ever-so-slightly.

"Well I'm just here to ask if you've seen anything recently, in the land behind your establishment, any tracks or signs of nesting or remnants of some sort. Perhaps at night?"

Maybe he just wanted her to leave, maybe he honestly wanted to know what the creature was. Sam actually looked like he was reviewing in his mind possible candidates for the creature.

"Not anything that would attract you. I mean, the worst we've got around here are the coons and squirrels. They nest, but it's pretty obvious they wouldn't be able to do it." He smiled weakly with a shrug.

Marylin nodded and wrote on her notebook without showing him anything. "No foul stenches or anything?"

"It's a Bar and Grill… There's always foul stenches. Just walk out back right now and you'll smell half a dozen of everything. Fresh and rotten."

"Mm." The hunter frowned a tad but then decided to take a chance and asked next: "So nothing really out of the ordinary? Let's say, sulfuric?"

"No," he said laughingly after a beat. "I know some of the customers might act like them some times, but we don't have any dragons around here." His brows furrowed slowly when he realized she wasn't joking. "No. There's not sulfur."

"Okay… Well," Marylin realized there was nothing more she could ask. Plus, she was actually starting to feel bad about pestering the poor man. There appeared a lot on his mind.

Not to mention the damn waitresses were listening in on them, Arlene snapping at Daphne for the concerned whimpers she uttered behind her while they hid round a corner. Marylin glanced back at them pointedly and stood.

"I think that's it, Mr. Merlotte. Do you mind if I look out back myself, look at the area really quickly? Then I'll try not to bother you again," she said, her tone genuine. Devoid of that cold authority she had assumed just a moment ago.

The man stood up with her and shrugged. "Not at all. Let me know if you find anything. I don't want my customers in danger." Sam glanced over at his waitresses and sighed. Some things would never change.

"I will, thanks. Here's my card if _you_ find anything, anything at all, Mr. Merlotte." Marylin gave one last look at the redhead and bimbo and then turned to the exit. That was their cue to ambush Sam.

Daphne's eyes glistened from fret as she nearly swooned against him. "What'd she ask you, Sam? Are you in trouble?"

"No, I'm not in trouble," Sam said, taking an immediate step away from the both of them. "Nothing's wrong, now go. You've got lunch to prep for. Go on." Without allowing them to pester him further, the man headed back into his office and shut the door.

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open and looked about the room—it was silent and empty, dimly lit by glowing crimson curtains that stopped the bright sunlight from coming through. Neither Bill nor Eric was around, which meant it was morning. Actually, it felt more like midday, which meant she missed work, which meant Sam would be on her ass again. But there was nothing Sookie could do about it now. Taking in a breath, she sat and felt her back healed, not even a pang of pain. The blood Bill had given her left her rejuvenated, feeling better than ever.

Except where Bill was she didn't know. Had he gone back home? Surely he couldn't have left her, not alone in Eric's lair where God only knows what happened. The thought of the smarmy Viking made Sookie nauseous again. Oh, how she hated him.

Grimacing and hoping it wasn't he had who changed her into the oversized red t-shirt she presently wore, the girl approached a mirror nearby and went about inspecting her back.

Yes, the gashes were indeed gone, not a trace left.

It had taken Lillian less than five minutes to convince the ditzy and possibly strung-out Fangtasia waitress, Ginger, that she was Sookie's sister and needed to see her. It was a new record for Lilly and had her smiling as she wove around the chairs to where she could see Sookie standing in front of a mirror. Cautiously, Lilly stepped into the reflection so that she wouldn't be spooked by her sudden appearance.

"Sookie? How are you feeling?"

Sookie spun around with a curt nod. "I'm fine, feeling much better now."

"She said she was here las' night," said Ginger anxiously behind Lillian. "Eric said not to let an'one in until he wakes up. But she insisted, I couldn' do noth—"

"You were here with your friend, weren't you?" Sookie acknowledged with a sudden smile, cutting Ginger off and stepping towards the hunter. "I remember. You said you'd be back."

Lillian smiled and ignored Ginger. "Yes, I did, and I kept my promise." Because she wasn't sure if Sookie was feeling weak or not, she gestured to a round table and sat. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I just woke up. Though, I'm actually not sure they'd have anythin' here… Since vampires don't eat an'all."

"I—I could make you a tube-top sandwich. We got stuff for that," Ginger piped up again. "You like peanut butter?"

Sookie took a seat and shrugged. "Uh, sure. Would you want one, uh-?" She looked at the hunter, not knowing her name.

"I'm not sure that sounds safe," Lilly replied sheepishly. "What exactly is…a tube-top sandwich?"

Ginger snorted and waved a bony hand. "I'll show you. That's all I practically eat. Good for losin' weight. Lost 37 pounds since I got this job. I'll be right back!"

They watched her scamper off and Sookie could've sworn she heard trailing thoughts of unease. Ginger was so jittery she nearly tripped on her way out. Turning to Lilly, Sookie smiled warmly again.

"You'll have to forgive me. I'm not sure I got your name last night, I was kind of out of it."

Lillian had been suspiciously watching Ginger walk away. "I think that's understandable," the hunter said. "I'm Lillian. We followed you when we thought the vampire was going to hurt you. Do you remember anything from last night?"

Sookie lowered her gaze at the question and now frowned uncertainly. "Well, not much… I was just walkin' in the through the woods and somethin' attacked me. I don't remember what it was only that it had horns… But half of it looked like a human," she chuckled weakly. "I know it sounds crazy."

"Not as crazy as you think," Lilly assured. "I've seen my share of crazy." _Things you never even dreamed of._

What she couldn't understand was how a werewolf could be mistaken for a human bull. Though the doctor had pointed out that it wasn't one of the mutated canines they were all too familiar with, Lilly had no clue what else I could be, which meant it would be time to research at some point… Bon Temps had to have a library with working computers.

"Why were you in the woods? I mean, I understand a nice stroll, but it was kind of late."

"Yeah I know…" Sookie knew she'd been foolish and vowed to never argue with Bill again. Never, never again—even if the makeup sex was good.

"But me an' Bill—we had a fight just before and I was stupid enough to say I'd walk the rest of the way home," she earnestly shook her head. "I didn' know that something was lurkin' out there. If I did, I would've never been so stupid."

"So, you really are in a…relationship with a vampire?" Lillian wasn't able to hide some of the skepticism in her voice. "Do you take a lot of energy drinks or what? I mean, you're awake all day, he's asleep. You're awake all night, trying not to fall asleep. Not to mention the whole blood thing."

"Oh it doesn' gross me out," said Sookie promptly. "And I'm used to it by now. But it's really not what you think. I love Bill and he loves me. He's different than the other vampires."

Lillian just smiled and nodded, silently wondering if vampires could love. Take Bill for example: he was just a ball of anger the night before. Of course he had good reason. Eric was a much better example. She had a hard time believing either was capable of…feelings.

"I wonder if that woman got lost trying to find her tube-top. But in all seriousness, Sookie, how do you know he won't lose control?"

Sookie smirked sadly as though Lilly would never understand until she'd meet her own Bill.

"Because I know Bill better than anyone," Sookie told her. "And if he does ever lose control, like when he's tryin' to protect me or doesn' like someone I like, I always manage to set him in his place again. We may fight, but we always make up again. I know it's difficult to understand, but I can promise you it's no glamourin' or trickin' of any kind on his part. I'm tougher than most people might think."

When she had brought up the glamouring, Lillian's eyes immediately narrowed.

"Well then you've found a rare one. I've just seen what they're capable of," Lilly paused a moment. "Then again I've seen what a human can do so I suppose it's not really fair to condemn all of them."

But when she realized where her thoughts were going, the hunter shook her head. She couldn't think that way. It would make her job so much harder.

"Well, Miss Tube-top really did get lost."

"Yeah, seems like," Sookie observed as well. She idly tried to listen to Lilly's thoughts, which peeked her interest. "What were you and your friend doing in the woods? You weren't really following it, were you?"

Knowing that there was no point in hiding the truth, when the vampires already knew, Lilly shrugged her shoulders. "Guilty. Someone's gotta get rid of it. You happen to have a boyfriend who's…well actually able to take care of you, but most others won't be that lucky. So, we get rid of it."

That sounded too cryptic for Sookie. "Rid of what?

"Rid of what was chasing you." Lilly's eyes drifted to where Ginger had disappeared.

_It's daytime… I'm fine._

But even with the comforting reminder that the sun was still up in the sky, she knew that in the middle of a nest, there was always a possibility.

"We wouldn't want someone else being attacked."

Sookie nodded. "No, it would be horrible." But she still didn't understand how and why Lillian planned to get the monster, for she was just a women. Did she have a death wish?

"Maybe you should just leave it to Bill and Eric," suggested Sookie. "They'll find the thing. I don't want you and your friend gettin' hurt if you go out there again."

"I think they'd like that too much," replied Lilly with a half of a laugh. "If the poor women folk stayed at home. But the truth is Sookie, _that's_ what we _do_." She looked at the girl as she paused, and when Sookie still didn't seem to understand, she smiled again. "We're hunters. Mar and I get rid of threats. Like your bullman."

"Like…supernatural threats?" Sookie said. Though she'd never seen a werewolf or a demon or any other kind of thing like that (besides vampires and shapeshifters, of course), she heard stories and they weren't good ones.

"But that's dangerous! Why would you risk yourselves like that?"

Lillian's jaw clenched as she thought of the reason she and Marylin did it, and briefly looked away. When she could put her gentle smile back on, she said, "We were raised to it. We do it to help people, but enough about that. Are you staying here all day? With Tube-top as company?"

Sookie looked away to where the kitchen was, hearing faint whispering of thoughts. "I don' know…"

Caught eavesdropping, Ginger cleared her throat and scurried from around the corner with a plate of the much awaited sandwiches. Both Lilly and Sookie grimaced at the sight of them as she placed them on the table with a jittery hand. Two pieces of wonder break rolled into a soggy tube with a brown mix glistening around the edges.

"Here you go. They needed some minutes in the microwave, taste better that way. H-hope ya like them. I know I do. You want some beer with it or somethin'? Coke? We got coke."

"No, I think we're fine, Ginger, thanks," said Sookie, her own smile forced now. "Are you hungry? Maybe you should eat some?"

"Nope, I'm good, Sook. Don'cha worry 'bout me."

The only thoughts Sookie got from her were: _Eric's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me…for letting the hunter back in. He told me not to let ne'one in. Oh no, oh no._ So Sookie turned back to Lillian.

"I'm goin' to go back home soon, then I gotta head to work 'cause I'm already late. Are you stayin' at the Bon Temps Inn?"

"Yeah, Mar and I have a room." Lillian looked down at her sandwich and picked up a corner of the piece of bread. Sticky stuff dripped out. _This would kill me… Give me bullmen anytime…_ "Do you need a ride into town?" _It's always possible that the thing could go after her again… Need to stay close._

"No, I got my car here, and don't worry, Bill'll protect me," Sookie promised, to relieve the unspoken concern. "I'll be at _Merlotte's_ all day until about 6 or so, so you can stop by any time if ya'd like."

Lillian nodded and stood. "Yeah, we'll do that. We never got a chance to see if Eric's _friends_ had seen anything." She pushed in her chair and headed for the door. "Thanks for talking, Sookie. We'll see you later today."

"Bye!" Sookie waved as she left, and Ginger seemed to let out a breath of relief.

_Jesus, if that hunter had found out Eric's been keeping someone in the basement, he'd have my neck—_

Sookie gasped in alarm.

* * *

Even though it was crowded and most of the booths were filled, and people were up and playing pool and sitting at the bar, the first person the two women saw when they entered _Merlotte's_ again was Sam. And surprisingly enough he was grinning as he conversed with an old, heavyset bald man with a scraggily white beard.

"Do you see her?" Lilly whispered as they let the screen door close behind them. But they hadn't gone more than five feet when Sam spotted them and, with a small smile, left the bar to go greet them.

"I didn't expect to see you two back here. Agent Gold," he said. He dipped his head in a personal greeting to her before dipping his head to Lilly.

"Hello again, Mr. Merlotte." Out of the corner of her eye, unfortunately Marylin couldn't find Sookie anywhere. But Sam certainly seemed to be in a better mood this time.

"We just thought we'd grab some dinner while off duty. But seems like we'll have to wait our turn."

Sam looked around his packed establishment and then gestured. "Well, you can sit at the bar. I think there are two empty seats beside each other."

Lilly saw the chairs he indicated and started towards them, still on the lookout for a particular waitress. Mar followed her and took a seat, while Merlotte went around the counter.

"Will you be serving us today?" she asked him.

"I guess I don't have a choice," he said as he grabbed two bottles of beer from beneath the counter. "Two of my waitresses didn't show today, though at least one called Arlene in to cover for her. But the other not showing means that I have her job for the night." He popped the caps off with ease and put them in front of each woman. "So you said you were hungry. Do you know what you'd like or would you like a couple of menus?"

The hunters exchanged a glance and shrug.

"I think a burger will do for me—without onions, please," requested Marylin, remembering that she'd forgotten to tell Daphne that the night before, and thus the cook had given her a generous amount.

"Same for me, but extra pickle," replied Lillian when Sam looked at her next. The man headed back to the kitchen to put in their orders.

Lillian turned to Marylin with a sigh. "Well, that makes this a momentary dead end. What is going on, Mar? We're better than this…" Lulls during hunts always did this to them. When they had no choice but to wait, wait for something—a clue, or a hunch—to fall in their laps of its own accord.

Reaching for her beer, Marylin shook her head, honestly not knowing what to think.

"I don't know. We'll have to go back and search again, but the full moon will be gone soon. Maybe we just should go to the next nearby town and check there. The thing could've gone north."

Lillian rested her own bottle on the wooden bar top and turned in her chair so that she could see more of the joint.

"We need something better than _could-haves_ though. This isn't a dead case, but we need…something else to go off of. We already figured out everything there was to know about the woman who had her heart taken out. It's just not adding up. And now we got a bullman." She made sure to lower her voice on the last part.

Whatever it was, the bull wasn't mindless.

Marylin let her gray eyes wander too as she thought and kept her voice down. "Then it's something we haven't faced before. We should call Bobby. Maybe he can help us," she proposed suddenly.

"Yeah. I don't see any other way." Lilly took her cell phone from her pocket and dialed up the old man's number. Bobby, another hunter and their mentor, had seen everything under the sun and moon during his forty-plus years, and if he didn't, then he probably had a book that had.

Lillian listened to the ringing. The call rang for a while. When it reached voicemail, she heard Bobby's gruff, entirely unenthused greeting. "He's not picking up…"

"Then we'll call again later. It means he's on a hunt." Marylin let her head droop and stared at the various knickknacks under the glass of the worn bar counter (old bills, stickers, postcards). She idly ran her finger through the condensation her bottle left. They haven't confronted such a conundrum in a while.

Lilly left Bobby a message. "You know, we never did find out if that vampire Eric's cronies found anything…" But she wasn't able to continue because Sam returned to them.

"They're on the grill."

"Thank you, Mr. Merlotte," said Marylin, who quickly forced her frown upside-down. She took a swig of beer to swallow the rest of her distress.

Sam didn't immediately remark upon what seemed like mutual tension, and instead he quickly started up conversation.

"So did you girls find anything then, or did the trail run cold?" He tried to act like it wasn't that big of a deal either way, poured a draft beer from the keg.

"At the moment? Not much has surfaced," answered Lilly. She glanced at Marylin. There was just something off about Merlotte.

But Marylin decided there was no harm in telling their plans. "Tomorrow we'll go to the coroner's. If we don't find out anything else, we'll move onto Shreveport, stop in the towns around there. I don't think there's much else to see in your Bon Temps unfortunately."

"I don't have a problem with _not-much-to-see_," Sam admitted with a weary smile. "But why do you want to see the body? I mean… is that really necessary?"

"It'll be easier to determine what creature we should be looking for because if we can figure out approximately what happened, we can narrow down the list," Lilly tried to explain, then took a drink when she saw a red-lipped old woman sitting beside her start to turn a little green.

Sam nodded slowly, thought it over a little, his brows arched practically to his hair line. "Well, that makes _some_ sense…" There was a soft yell from the kitchen, and the man then had to leave again, excusing himself.

Watching him, Marylin whispered to Lilly, "Judging by his reaction, he may now think we're a little crazy."

"Judging by this town, I think everyone is a little crazy," she whispered right back with a grin. Again she couldn't say more because Sam returned with their burgers.

Setting the respective plates before the two, he said, "No onions… And extra pickle."

* * *

_Lillian and Marylin return to Fangtasia later…_

"You're going to let him go righ' now, or I swear I'm goin' to the police!"

Seething, Eric snarled at Sookie and replied, "I do not respond well to threats."

The girl flinched but didn't back down. She glared right back at the vampire, while Bill stood behind her, trying hard not to intervene. Then a sudden knock interrupted the argument for him.

Pam appeared with a sneer on her flawless white face, addressing Eric.

"Guess who's back."

The vampire saw the hunters step into the doorway and only grew angrier. "Not now."

"They already got half the club riled up, Eric. You want me to kick them out?"

Sookie gasped, immediately protesting. "Wait, no! Don't kick them out! They said they'd be back. And wait until they find out what you've done, Eric!"

"This matter does not concern them!" he yelled.

"What he's done?" Lillian asked Sookie. The hunters were already on their guard from just walking through the club.

"It would _behoove_ you to leave," Bill told them both from where he stood behind his girlfriend. "Eric is right. This does not concern you."

"Now it sure does," said Marylin, on the verge of reaching for her gun. "What the hell did you do, vampire?"

Eric snarled at her scathing intonation. Only Sookie's presence kept him from attacking the hunters—the blonde defiantly stepped beside them and decided to explain herself.

"He's got my friend Lafayette _chained_ in his basement, for what probably was _two_ weeks already, left alone to _bleed_ to death!"

"That human had traded sexual services with a vampire in order to sell his blood, which is a _grave_ offense to us," snapped Eric.

The hunters needed a moment to process this. Lillian resisted her own urge to reach for her gun and was the first to point out:

"But wouldn't that be a grave offense to…the vampire that did it?"

"That is not the point," Bill began, but Lilly wasn't done.

"I understand he committed a crime against your people. But it sounds like it was consensual, and honestly, I know you guys aren't kids so…weren't they willing adults?"

Perhaps using logic wasn't the best idea with angry vampires, though it made sense in her mind.

In a split instant, Eric had rounded on her, too close for her comfort.

"That vampire is now dead, killed by one of _your_ kind, so I believe that my decisions have been justified. I'm the Sheriff of this area and if you wish to strike a nerve with me then any arrangements of peace between us will be broken, hunter."

Marylin sneered and said, "You've now struck a nerve with _us_."

"Let him go, Eric. Right now!" Sookie demanded again.

Lillian flinched at the vampire's proximity. Unable to help herself, though, she instantly clenched her hands into fists and glared up at him, refusing to look away.

"And if _you_, Sheriff, wish to break the ties between hunters and vampires, continue with whatever it is you're doing. However, I have no willing desire to do so, so maybe rather than snarling at each other, we can discuss this?"

Bill just sighed in annoyance and turned away.

Eric, on the other hand, seemed to have an odd change of mind and stepped away from Lilly. He was both surprised and impressed by her willingness to settle this civilly—unlike her partner, who continued to glare hatefully at him.

"In that case, perhaps we may be able to come to some sort of arrangement..." The vampire turned to stroll back towards his desk. Sookie was relieved but knew he'd somehow try to bend the conditions.

* * *

_Sookie owes Eric, thus when he calls her to go to Dallas, she can't say no._


	3. Witchy Woman

Raven hair and ruby lips  
Sparks fly from her finger tips  
Echoed voices in the night  
She's a restless spirit on an endless flight  
Wooo-hooo witchy woman, see how  
High she flies

~The Eagles

. . .

"_Oh…_"

Looking at the wound on the dead woman's back, Lilly swallowed on a gag and lifted a hand to her face. Sure they had seen plenty of dead bodies. This was something else, and the look of pure terror on the cadaver's face? Normally the fact that they were in a coroner's trailer office would have helped to instill a sterile, non-human atmosphere, but for the most part it just added to the stark ambiance.

"As you can see, it seemed that she was paralyzed before her heart was ripped out," the coroner explained in a droll tone.

Marylin held her breath and with a gloved hand lifted a shoulder, but the smell quickly made her put it down. "More like _cut_ out."

"Yes, that's why that couldn'ta been an animal. Too clean," said the coroner, arms behind his back. "But the back…gashed out quite messily. So unless you can think of an animal that's able to use a huntin' knife, I got no clue what it coulda been."

"So you're saying…it's a human?" Lilly asked. It wasn't an animal. It wasn't a werewolf. What the hell was it?

"Wa-ell, sure looks like it," the coroner said with nod. The way he was looking at the body almost made it appear like he couldn't look away and yet wasn't entirely looking at it either.

"Maybe it's a human/animal collaboration," joked Sheriff Dearborne. But the other cop, who happened to be a woman and black just like the victim, didn't find it funny at all.

"I heard there was some panther sightin's over 'round Nakatosh. Could be a panther," offered the coroner.

"No," said Dearborne, peering over the corpse. "Too wide a gashes for a panther…"

The hunters nodded in concurrence. "It's something different," Marylin thought out loud to Lilly.

"Like what?" asked the old sheriff.

"It kind of looks like a bear," covered Lillian smoothly.

"A bear?" The Sheriff looked up at her in confusion. "But we're pretty far south for bears, I thought."

Lillian shrugged and stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Normally you'd be right, but with human suburbs growing larger, they're pushing animals way out of their normal habitats. I could see one travelling this far south… It actually looks like a bear claw."

The coroner was speculative. "I thought bears had four claws, this is three."

Marylin cleared her throat and went back to inspect the dead woman again, feigning concentration, when a man bust through the door with a file in his hands.

"Kenya! I need to talk to you about somethin'!" It was Andy Bellefleur, another cop, and he was sweating and stuttering from anxiety. "Somethin' in Tara Thornton's file, when she got her car wrecked. It's about the pig she saw on the road."

"The pig?" the woman replied in confusion, but the Sheriff was the one to sigh. He placed one hand on his hip, looked down at the floor for a moment before approaching seemingly deranged deputy.

"Andy. What are you doin' here? And what are you doin' lookin' at that file? You're supposed to be taking a break."

Lillian looked over at Mar, sharing a silent accord that didn't need words. It was official. Everyone in this town was crazy.

"I can't take a break from the job. Gah!" Andy waved Dearborne off. "Listen, Kenya. The pig Tara saw, the brown one—I saw it too! Last night, in a doll house—"

"Andy, are you _drunk_?"

"No, Bud, I ain't drunk. I saw the same pig Tara described while I was checkin' on a MaryAnn Forrester's party."

"I'm sorry to do this to ya, Andy, but… I think you need to give me your gun and badge now. You just won' quit. Take some time off." The senior Sheriff held out his hand, nodding. "Come on Andy… Don't do this."

"Wait, no! Listen, I wasn't goin' to the party. Well, I was, but someone was complainin' about the music and I was goin' to check it out. Bud!" Andy pleaded. "_Please_."

But the Sheriff just looked at him and shook his head. "Andy."

"Fine!" Andy took off his badge and side arm and slapped them into Bud's waiting hands. "I'm not crazy. I know what I saw!" Angrily, the man stormed out.

Bud apologized for him. "I'm sorry you had to witness that."

Both of the hunters quickly shook their heads during the awkward moment.

"Nope, don't worry about it. I…think we're going to head off too. Thank you for your time, Sheriff Dearborne," said Marylin, nodding at each of them. "We'll call you if something comes up. We'll be staying for a little while longer."

Lillian headed out quickly after her.

"So the strange thing is we know more," about the victim and sadly the town's criminal justice system, "but I'm still not sure we're any further along. Did Bobby call back yet?"

Their car was gleaming silver and black beside the curb, unlike most of the other vehicles that were parked around it.

Mar pulled out her phone but said, "No, he didn't. Still hunting, I guess." She unlocked the Camaro and they got inside, wondering what they'd do next. "Let's just go back to the motel and review our information, maybe check the areas again."

* * *

The dinner rush had yet to start. As it was, there were only two tables that actually had people at them, and at one was Daphne who was sorting silverware, and at the other were a couple of old biddies having soup and coffee. Sam stood with his back to the door behind the bar, polishing glasses and making sure everything was prepared for the night rush. But his mind was elsewhere.

Before he could drift further into his reverie, much to his annoyance, a voice startled him out of it.

"_I'm sorry I'm late! I know I was supposed to be here like fifteen minutes ago but something held me up."_

Sookie came running through the door, _Merlotte's_ uniform already donned and ready to go.

"It won't happen again, Sam, I swear! And I'm also sorry about yesterday. Something held me up then too. I couldn't really do anything about it," she laughed slightly but then her smile fell when she saw Sam's face. "Are you mad, Sam? 'Cause _really_, I _am_ sorry."

Blinking, the man shook his head. "It's fine, it's fine, really." He smiled at her as though she had in fact brought him out of some heavy thinking. "Where were you? I was worried about you. I can't have waitresses just not botherin' to show up whenever they want, Sook. I haven't even heard from Tara."

"I haven't heard from her either. But last I heard she was stayin' at that Forrester woman's house."

At that, Sam sneered and turned back around to his glasses, snapping his dry towel over his shoulder to rest it there. "Yeah, that's what she said." He was quiet again, but it was only a moment before he faced her once more. "I don't know what happened to you, Sook, but you need to be careful. Watch yourself."

Sookie nodded curtly. "I know, I am," she wasn't planning on telling Sam what happened to her, but she certainly knew she learned a lesson. "Especially with whatever's been lurkin' out there lately."

"Tell me about it. I've had two Wildlife rangers or whatever they are visiting every day with questions about the goings on around here." Sam braced his hands against the bar's edge. "I mean what _is_ going on around here?"

"I don't know, but are you talkin' about Lilly and Marylin? I didn't know they were Wildlife rangers. That's not what they told me." Before she knew it, Sookie had let it slip.

"Lilly and Marylin? You mean Agent Gold and her partner?" Come to think of it, the blonde had never given her name. It had just been Agent Gold that had done the talking. "What did they tell you?"

Had they lied to him?

"Well." Now Sookie realized her mistake. Lilly and Marylin must've been keeping their natures secrets, and with good reason.

"They didn't tell me anything about being agents, but they did tell me they were huntin' after whatever attacked that woman out back." Sookie laughed and then, to make up for her slip-up, said quickly, "But maybe they were off duty, just didn't feel like introducing themselves as agents. They're really nice, you know."

"What exactly did they tell you, Sookie?" Sam demanded almost too fervently for him. The hair on the back of his neck had stood on end and he felt like someone just dumped a bucket of ice water over his head.

The blonde was offended slightly. "Nothing, Sam, just what I said. Why are you snapping at me like that? They really are good people, and if it's anyone who should know, it's me," she reminded.

Sam clenched his teeth together for a moment, ran his hands through his hair. Then his worry took over the anger on his face.

"Jesus, Sookie, just tell me. Please. What did they tell you? What are they?"

"'_What_'? Sam, are you okay?" Now Sookie was really miffed. "Listen, I'm not sure where they came from, but I all I know is they're here to help, so you should stop bein' so darn paranoid."

With that, she went around towards the back of the restaurant and disappeared.

He watched her go for all of about ten seconds and then went around the bar. Rather than following her, however, he walked straight out the front door, not looking back as it shut behind him with a slap.

* * *

The party had oozed into the yard by now, the already-large mansion unable to hold all of the people, though logically it shouldn't have had a problem with its size. The long gravel driveway was packed with cars and the poor Camaro barely found itself room. It was forced to park on the curb instead. It seemed that Bon Temps was not only a town full of crazies but also one that enjoyed parties every night, parties that the rich Forrester woman hosted.

The hunters wondered if she was some sort of celebrity.

"If she's a famous actress, why would she want to crash in this podunk town?" Marylin said as they started up the drive. "Escaping the paparazzi that way?"

Lillian shrugged. "I think I read somewhere that a lot of celebrities find these little places attractive, like roughing it after bathing in the high-life becomes more appealing. At least for a little while."

There were lights strung everywhere. In actuality, it was quite beautiful. But the people that were frequenting the party brought the scenery back down to earth. Everybody from young folk to old were dancing, though the two women preferred to avert their eyes from the latter.

Approaching the door, they saw streamers and balloons hanging in threshold.

"Looks like it's a birthday party," Marylin whispered to Lilly.

"It's Tara's birthday! Yeaaaaahhhh!" answered a drunken man, who ran past as he overheard them. He latched onto Marylin, leaned drunkenly into her face, and breathed, "You wanna beer, cupcake?"

It took a couple of attempts to pry him off her and send him off. Marylin was left grimacing and fixing her dark hair, which the man ruffled.

"What do you think, _cupcake_?" Lillian asked her friend with a grin. "Should we go in?"

Marylin grimaced and took Lilly's elbow, pulling her closer for safety. "We didn't bring any gifts…"

The party revealed to be even wilder inside, people swaying and grinding to the music, which thudded throughout the place. It seeped into the walls and floors. All the rooms were packed. Finding this Tara to wish her a happy birthday appeared a little harder than they thought.

Lilly just grinned and watched the wide array of people. "I don't think they brought gifts either," she replied. There was a table of gifts, but all of them were wrapped so perfectly and expensively that it made her wonder if they were all from the hostess.

Thankfully, it appeared that they had been able to ditch the man who wanted to bring Marylin a beer (or perhaps he had just forgot in his stupor).

But someone else did come to greet them. A woman with a most welcoming, sultry smile.

"_Welcome to Tara's birthday party. I don't think I recognize you, but I'm glad you could come. There's plenty of fun to be had by all."_

"Oh, we were just stopping by," started Marylin, taking a moment to glance at her appearance. "Are you Ms. Forrester?"

The hostess was dressed so unlike her guests (in a lavish, white dress and draping with actual flowers and gold jewelry) that she had to be a celebrity for sure. Her hair fell down her back in brown waves in ways that only celebrities were thought to achieve. It was her eyes and smile that drew the two in. It was hard to figure out exactly what she was thinking. For a brief instant, they felt as if they were being sized up, not only physically but by their characters as well. And then in the very next moment, they decided they were mistaken and there was nothing but a warm and friendly hostess addressing them.

"I am. Call me MaryAnn. And I'm honored that you've heard of me." She turned and gestured with her hand towards the large glass backdoors to usher the two girls outside. "Karl is just outside serving some stew and beverages. Please! Help yourselves and enjoy the party!"

Marylin and Lilly looked down the hall, thanking Ms. Forrester a little bashfully.

"But where's the birthday girl?" Marylin asked. "Maybe we should go introduce ourselves. We didn't really come on invite…"

"Let me tell you a little secret," MaryAnn whispered, leaning towards them both. "Most of these people didn't come on invite!" She laughed, led them out back. "I believe she's in the hot tub with that man of hers. Grab some punch, maybe a joint, and head on over. I'm sure she'd love to meet such lovely girls."

Lilly couldn't stop her smirk and nodded, pulling lightly out of her friend's grasp to walk through the door to where it looked like "Karl" was passing out drinks and food.

Who was she to turn it down?

"A joint?" Marylin said as she watched Ms. Forrester saunter back into the house.

Just as the hostess promised, there was a tray with a rather large pile of carefully and deliberately rolled cigarettes free for their taking.

Marylin could only ogle at them with shock. "I guess you can get away with anything here."

"You saw the cops. Not exactly the most inspiring." Though Lilly was about to go to Karl to get in line, she found the hot tub. "Are we really going to introduce ourselves?"

The couple there was nuzzling and sharing a…deep moment Marylin thought best not to interrupt.

"Looks like they're busy, and if all these people really didn't come here on invite, I think we can just say hi later." She turned around to get herself a drink. As she did, she spotted a familiar man stroll outside as well, except he didn't seem quite happy to be there.

His eyes narrowed when he saw them. But rather than go to them, which would have made him enter further into the party, he continued to glare across the porch.

"Merlotte seems happy," commented Lilly over the rim of her red solo cup. "Think he wants us to come over?"

"I don't know. Did something happen?" Feeling uncertain, Marylin watched him for a moment or two until she finally decided to approach him herself.

"Mr. Merlotte?" she said hesitantly. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know, is it?" he asked her through a sneer. His voice a sharp hush. "I know what you are. Did you think you'd get away with it? With your lie?"

"Our lie?" Lilly repeated, giving Sam a look that said she clearly thought him crazy.

"You're hunters, aren't you? That's why you're really here?"

Marylin's face fell at once and she glanced around briefly, to make sure no one was in earshot. "Did someone tell you?" Either the vamps or Sookie were blabbermouths.

"So you are!" Sam accused, taking a quick couple more steps back. She'd confirmed it. "Gold isn't even really your name, is it?"

"Who told you, Sam?" asked Lilly, dropping the whole "Mr. Merlotte" act.

"Stay away from Sookie," he spat, completely ignored her as he watched Marylin.

Marylin could only sigh in annoyance. "Did _she_ tell you?" To make matters worse, now they knew that no one in this town could keep secrets. "I don't know what you know, Sam, but we're here to help," the woman calmed her voice. "We're going to find this thing, I promise."

"Sam, how do you know what a hunter is?" Lillian asked him curiously.

Now Merlotte looked slightly panicked, as though he would bolt at any moment. "It was just a guess, uh—"

"_Sam_!"

The three of them turned to see Daphne running across the lawn. She laughed, held her cup in the air as if that would keep it from spilling. "I didn' think you'd come. Why didn't you tell me you'd be here?"

The hunters tried not to roll their eyes.

"Oh, you're here too?" The waitress giggled, noticing them. "I guess the whole town's here. Ain't this party great? You should try the stew, it's _so_ damn good!"

Though Sam smiled slightly at Daphne, it didn't last very long because he couldn't stop thinking about what the other two women represented.

"I'm just going to go grab something to eat," Lillian told them suddenly. "You enjoy yourselves." Perhaps Sam would feel a little better if there was only one hunter standing there? Without waiting, she turned and left them.

Marylin looked away uncomfortably. And Daphne then noticed the look on Sam's own face. Her big doe eyes glittering with concern and confusion, she gently rubbed his shoulder. "Honey, you feelin' alright?"

He raised a hand to his shoulder, then dropped it back down. His answer left her disappointed.

"Yeah. But I'm goin' to head out," he replied. He didn't want to be there anymore. He had wanted to come to say happy birthday to Tara, warn her, and leave. The last thing he wanted was to run into MaryAnn.

"Why don'cha stay a bit longer? Please, Sam," implored Daphne, tugging on his hand. Marylin had an irking to leave herself now, but then caught the waitress' glance. "You should stay too! I heard there's going to be a bonfire soon."

Marylin forced a smile and put her drink down on the banister behind her, looking briefly at Sam. "Actually, I think it's best my partner and I leave early as well. I'm sure it'll be fun, but we're still on the job. A hangover in the morning isn't such a good idea."

Sam didn't respond and just watched her carefully. Did he have to worry about them? They'd been there three days already and never had they made a move towards him… Maybe they really were there to go after whatever had killed that woman in his parking lot.

Daphne just grinned at Marylin.

"You sure your partner feels that way?" She pointed towards Lillian, who was eating a bowl of stew and laughing amongst a group of people as a guy in his mid-twenties regaled them with some wild tale.

Marylin made to go to her and took her arm to pull her aside. "Hey, Lil, let's call it a night. We got work to do tomorrow. Eh—what's that you're eating?"

The soup smelled good actually, steaming hot, but glinted a deep red color that looked anything but appetizing. Everyone was eating it, asking for second's, third's, and even forth's, while Ms. Forrester stood on the patio behind Sam and Daphne and overlooked the feast with a wide grin of something akin to amused delight.

"Stew," replied Lillian, and then gestured with her spoon towards where Karl was still dishing it out. "It's incredible, Mar. You've gotta try some. You want a spoonful?" Eagerly, she dipped it into her bowl to pull out a heaping portion for her friend to take if she wanted it.

But Marylin shook her head, pulling her away from the chatting group. "No thanks, I'm not hungry. How about you just take it with you? Come on, let's head back to the motel."

"Nice meeting you!" Lilly called out to the people as she let her friend drag her away, and continued eating. "You have no idea what you're missing," she said through another spoonful, not even paying attention to where they were going.

"We ate an hour ago."

When they got to their car, they looked back to wild calls they heard from the house. Before their eyes, the party had gotten wilder (which was hard to comprehend) and the people let loose _completely_, clothes flying through the air along with more obscene language.

"Maybe it really was time to leave…" Lillian agreed, snapping out of it at once. They stood beside their Camaro.

When several men streaked across the lawn, unabashed with glee, the hunters could only gape.

"Oh… Oh—oh, I did _not_ need to see that. Marylin, let's go!"

Quickly, with the plastic bowl deserted on the curb, the two climbed into the car and tried to ignore the large naked man running through the yard.

* * *

Again it sounded like they were interrupting an argument. But they had been called by Sookie and obliged to come. For a second or even third time since their arrival, Pam was knocking on the office door to let the hunters in. Bill and Eric both glared when they saw them, yet Sookie rushed to the women with a grin.

"Oh, I'm so glad that you made it! Eric, I'll go to Dallas to help you only if they come with!"

"_What_?" hissed the vampire. "That is out of the question! You swore to our agreement!"

"I know I did, but I'm givin' you _my_ conditions. If I have to be around a bunch of vampires you said are 'as rowdy as cowboys', then I want someone else with me."

"But you won't be alone, Sookie," implored Bill.

"But they told me they've been dealin' with all sorts of things for years, and havin' them there will keep the peace."

"Absolutely not!" Bill hissed, just as angry as Eric. "Do you know what they are capable of?"

"I think that's why she asked us to come," Lilly pointed out as she glanced at Sookie. "But I don't know if we can go, Sookie."

Bill immediately looked relieved at this. "Thank you."

"We're already in the middle of something here," the blonde hunter tried to explain.

"Yeah, I know…" Sookie frowned slightly. "But the trail's run cold, hasn't it? Maybe one of you can go then. I know it's probably too much to ask, but I really don't want to be alone."

Marylin didn't like the idea at all, not any of it. "The vampires could find out who we are and I don't think it would end well," she advised.

"Precisely," agreed Eric, pale eyes glinting dangerously. "They would rip you apart."

"No, they wouldn't, not if we don't tell them," Sookie said, and went to Bill to plead with him.

"Do you know what you are asking of me?" Bill asked her sharply.

"Almost anything we go after could and usually tries to rip us apart," Lillian pointed out to Eric, though rather than toss barbs back and forth, she turned to her partner. "She does have a point about the trail going cold. It's our job to protect people, Mar."

"Why is Sookie needed in Dallas anyway?" Marylin asked the vampires, crossing her arms. "What do they need her?"

Sookie turned back to them and said, "I needa help them find some vampire that was kidnapped."

But Eric hissed at her petulant indifference. "Not just some vampire! He's the Sheriff of that area and this matter is of no concern to the hunters."

"Here's what we don't understand," Lillian said. "It's of no concern to hunters, who have training in this area and have been dealing with it all their lives and yet, it is a concern of Sookie's who, no offense, doesn't have this training. She may be Bill's…girlfriend, but how does that qualify her?"

"Because we have said so. That should be enough for the likes of you," Bill told her hotly, shoving Sookie behind him. Everyone looked at her and even Eric stood silent while he simmered.

Grinning, Sookie shrugged to the hunters. "I guess I just have a knack with helpin' find things out. So will one of you come? Please? If you do, I'll owe you a million."

Marylin glowered, looking at Lillian with an unhappy, wholly reluctant face. They weren't actually going to agree, were they?

Knowing full well that her friend would not go, Lillian sighed and nodded.

"I'll go. Bill, you can't completely guarantee her safety." She held up her hand to forestall his immediate verbal pounce. "Yeah, you'll have to sleep during the day and so will the rest of the vampires, but that doesn't protect her from their human…companions." That actually had Bill silent. Lillian shrugged and pushed her hands into her pockets. "I can."

Marylin stared at her partner in shock. And Eric rounded on Lilly then, smirking at her valor. She didn't even flinch at his proximity. Was she really unafraid?

"You should know that the moment they find out who you are, you will be alone in a nest full of us. They won't hesitate to get rid of you. Perhaps you should rethink your decision before it's too late."

"If it comes to that, I hope I'll be able to remind them exactly why they wanted to get rid of me in the first place." She smiled briefly at him then, a determined glint in her eye, before looking to Sookie. "When are you planning on leaving? I need to go back to our motel to get some things." Lillian also knew that she'd be having quite the discussion with Marylin.

Sookie lit up but managed to refrain from ambushing Lillian with a hug.

Eric still eyed the hunter curiously. "Tomorrow evening," he said. "A car will come pick you up around five. You will fly there, all expenses paid by me, of course," he looked at Bill. "You'll meet the deputies there and they'll fill you in with everything."

"This should not be happening. You should not have done this, Sookie," Bill told her quietly, while Lillian turned to leave with her partner.

"We'll see you tomorrow then, Sookie. We have things we have to take care of before we leave," Lillian said. She only glanced at Marylin, not wanting to see the anger she knew was probably there. "And it's Lillian King by the way. For the plane ticket. If you were wondering," she tossed Eric's way, but she didn't actually look at him.

As they left, he uttered what might've sounded like a chuckle.

* * *

Lilly packed her bag. Marylin had ignored her the entire drive back to the motel from the club, and of course Lillian hadn't encouraged her to speak, knowing it would be fruitless and probably only escalate the angry atmosphere.

"I'd really like a chance to at least say goodbye to you before I leave, Mar," Lilly said with her back to her.

Marylin replied a brisk, "Good bye," and then resumed the silence. She went about her own things with an unemotional air. If Lilly wanted to risk her life without her, then that was fine with Marylin.

With a sigh, Lilly placed a couple of shirts inside her bag and turned to look at her friend. "Marylin, why are you upset? Is it because I'm leaving you alone with this case?"

Marylin spun round, bursting suddenly from the question. "It's because you actually agreed to something like that, Lillian. I thought you were smarter than that, not suicidally reckless!"

"Most of what we do is suicidally reckless, Mar, it goes with the territory, but this is a good chance for us." Lillian kept her voice very calm, wanting her friend to understand.

"_Chance_?"

"That girl needs our help. She can't rely on those vampires for her sole protection, and what's more, I'll be able to see the inner workings of a nest. I don't know of any hunter that could say that."

"But you'll be alone, _without_ me," Marylin took a step towards her, fuming. "And if they find out who you are—well, you heard that vampire—they'll rip you apart! So I want you to call Sookie back right now and tell them that you can't come."

Lillian's face softened.

"You know I can't do that, Mar," she said softly. "I've told them I'm going. If this works, then we'll have some great allies amongst the vampires, which could be really helpful if we're ever in a tough spot." She knew that no matter what her friend said, Lilly couldn't say no to them. "We need this."

"Why?" Marylin didn't find any justification in her words. "Did we ever need it before? We went around fine before this. We don't need to be allies with those—those _bloodsuckers_."

Yes, she hated them. She couldn't hide it. She'd always hated them and then one day they came out in the open, which successfully managed to obscure their job's purpose.

"I saw the way that vampire was looking at you," she scowled hatefully. "And don't tell me you didn't notice. They try to lure you in and then-" she shrugged gravely.

"I know my job, and I know what they are, Mar. He's not going to lure me in." Lilly turned around and threw another shirt into her bag. "I'm not going to fall for it and besides, he's not even going to be there. I'm the enemy and he knows it. It's all intimidation."

Marylin scoffed and shook her head sadly, saying, "See, he's already done something to you. I swear I'm going to go back to that damn club at day and shove a fucking stake through his chest while they're all sleeping."

"How could he have done something? You've been with me every time." Lilly would not raise her voice, though exasperation started to enter it. "He's done nothing but try to be the imperial, haughty, big bad vampire. They're all like that. Nothing is going to happen."

"Fine. But if something does happen, remember: you'll be alone and I won't be able to get there in time." Marylin grabbed her pajamas, stomping to the bathroom, already feeling abandoned and bitter.

The door slammed just as she added: "None of it's going to end well!"

With a sigh, Lilly walked over to the closed door. "Do you want to come with me? We can always call them back and demand it. Or I've got some extra cash, we can get you a ticket ourselves."

"I don't want to go!" Marylin answered angrily through the door. "I don't want either of us to go."

Lilly already gave her word and as such, she couldn't back out, but she knew that Marylin wouldn't understand that. Rather than continue to argue, Lilly went back to pack.


	4. Bloodletting

There's a crack in the mirror  
and a bloodstain on the bed -  
There's a crack in the mirror  
and a bloodstain on the bed -  
O you were a vampire and baby  
I'm the walking dead  
O you were a vampire and baby  
I'm the walking dead

~Concrete Blonde

. . .

She wandered into _Merlotte's_ and wished for a hundredth time that she wasn't alone—with these hicks and crazies. The place was packed for dinner time as usual and after the party last night, the rowdiness seemed to linger during the rush, the waitresses flitting about with orders, refills and forgotten forks and coleslaws. The stressed mood that permeated the air mimicked her own, Marylin noted grudgingly. And for once no one bothered to bug her upon her arrival. She found a seat at the end of the bar, not immediately noticing the new bartender stationed, nor that it was the birthday girl from last night. And perhaps it was a good thing because Tara seemed utterly annoyed at the influx of customers.

"What do you want?" the girl asked as she came to stand before Marylin. She stared at her with a wide-eye displeasure that didn't convey even the simplest of niceties.

Therefore Marylin was too startled by her attitude to make a decision so quickly. "Uh."

Rather than repeat what she had asked, Tara just shifted her head slightly and opened her eyes significantly wider. "We've got draft and import, take yer pick. Plus some hard stuff."

"Do you have Heineken? I'll just have that, thanks." Now Mar was glad she and Lilly hadn't said hi last night. Tara went to the cooler at the wall of the bar and produced the beer. She grabbed the opener and flipped the cap off before giving it to the woman.

"_Marylin_."

The voice came from behind. It was tinged with surprise, but the look in Sam's eyes became suspicion when he saw one less "Agent". "Where's your partner?"

Marylin looked at him dully and raised the bottle to her lips. "Gone."

Sam took a step closer, put a hand on the edge of the bar, as though emboldened by being on his own property. "Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"Something like that," Mar answered, still just as dully, and faced away. "But I don't care, so it doesn't matter." A long swig made her feel just a bit better.

Even if he was supposed to hate the woman sitting before him, he couldn't stop that sympathetic streak that always seeped through him.

"Tell you what," he started, and gestured to Tara towards Marylin. Though she rolled her eyes, she did as he silently asked and grabbed a second Heineken. "It's on the house."

Marylin readily took the new one and muttered softly, "Thanks."

Sam nodded and pulled a cloth out of his back pocket to wipe along the bar. There was a blessed momentary silence, broken by Arlene's snapping voice.

"Tara, I've been waiting on those two jack and cokes for fifteen minutes now!" The redheaded waitress had her hands cocked on her hips, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"And I'm gettin' to 'em!" the bartender snapped back.

Then there came a crash as a frustrated Daphne dropped a plate of chili cheese fries. "God_dang_ it!"

Arlene looked back, scoffing. "Nice goin', Daphne!"

"Can I maybe get some help with these orders, _Arlene_? Or am I gonna do it all myself ta'night?"

Arlene roved her head back to the bar. "Not now. I'm still waitin' for Tara to get my jack and cokes!"

Lafayette marched in next, rounding on his cousin. "Cous'! Where the hell's ma' tequila?"

"Get it yerself, Lafayette, or I'm gonna shove it where you don' want it!" Tara snapped back, becoming visibly more harried.

"Tara—"

"Tara!"

"TARA!"

Tara threw her towel hard down on the bar and went around it. "Fuck y'all! I'm goin' home. You wanna act like this, you can get it all for yourself!" She was shaking, looking close to tears, which was quite a shock.

Out in the parking lot, MaryAnn smiled.

"Our job here is done, Karl. We can leave now." Reclining in her red convertible, she gestured for her driver and the car pulled away from _Merlotte's_.

* * *

"_Anubis Airlines welcomes you to Dallas, the most vampire-friendly city in the great state of Texas. We hope you've enjoyed your flight and that you'll travel with us again…_"

Sookie staggered out of the jet, hiccupping, barely holding onto the railings. She was so tipsy that she had to lean onto Lillian to stabilize herself, while she waved around a small bottle of vodka she'd snatched from the plane.

"Lilly, oh, we should've grabbed some more of these. I just love 'em. They're like booze for dolls. Gosh, I wish I flew more often." Sookie hiccupped again and giggled. "Do you fly a lot? Oh, there's our limo!" she waved to the driver that waited for them. "Yoo-hoo! Compton party—that's us!"

Lillian shook her head to Sookie's many questions before also giving a wave to the limo driver. It was pretty evident as to who they were now with Sookie's drunken antics, but it was always good to enforce an understanding between sober people when a drunk one was present.

The limo driver gestured to the back of his vehicle and said, "Right this way."

"Uh, sir, can we wait just a sec?" Sookie had stopped when she remembered her boyfriend. He and Jessica were being lowered from the plane in their travel coffins. "I wanna wait for Bill."

"Well, uh, I got the AC cranked up, miss. It's nice an' cool in there."

Sookie smiled sweetly but still shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm fine for now. Lilly, you want to go ahead?"

A nervous sweat dripped down the driver's neck and he looked at the hunter impatiently. "G-go ahead, ma'am. I got cokes nice an' chilled. Go on together."

"We can handle the door," Lillian told him. Yet now she was looking at him speculatively. She saw the sheen on his face, the way his hands twitched. "Why don't _you_ go cool off inside? We'll be just fine." _Wouldn't want this heat that you should be used to to effect you…_

"P-please just get in the limo. We're not supposed to have civilians unattended in the hanger." _Get in the damn car, you ditzy bitches! I don't even know which one she is… Fuck! I'm gonna mess this up!_

Cautiously, Lillian placed herself in front of Sookie, who gasped at more of the driver's thoughts. "But as far as I know, you're not an employee of this airport but your own business."

Shuddering now, the man clenched his hands. "I said j-just get into the damn CAR!" and then lunged for both of them, grabbing them by the arms. "Get—IN, you little bitch-!"

One of the coffins burst open before he could get any further.

Lillian had grabbed the hand on her arm and twisted it behind the limo driver's back, which instantly made him release Sookie's arm. Lilly could do no further than that, however, as the driver was literally ripped from her grip and slammed against the side of the limo with a very angry vampire in his face.

"Who do you work for?" Bill demanded, his fangs extended dangerously.

The driver turned blue and very nearly fainted. "P-please d-don't…I-I—"

They all heard another noise as the second coffin on the lift fell but didn't unlock. Jessica thrashed about in it on the ground, banging and yelling and unable to get out.

"_Hey! Someone get me out of here! How the hell does this thing open? Bill! I knew were plannin' on locking me in, you—you—"she shrieked. "Get me outta here!_"

"We can't do this here, Bill," Lillian told him, scanning the hanger. There was no telling if there were other lackies hanging around. "Let's take care of this elsewhere. Sookie, get in the limo. I'll drive."

Sookie nodded quickly, still frightened, but hurriedly went inside the car. Bill followed, shoving the driver in after. Jessica finally managed to open her coffin and panicked when she saw them get ready to drive away.

"Hey, don't go yet, wait! I knew you were going to leave me in there!"

"I was not planning to leave you here," said Bill with a long, suffering sigh. Jessica simpered indignantly and climbed in. When all were settled, the limo pulled out of the hanger and into the night.

"What are—please don't kill me," blubbered the driver. Lillian glanced back at them from the rear view mirror but didn't say anything, preferring to let Bill handle the situation.

Sookie shook her head and kept as far away from the obvious abductor as she could.

* * *

_Hotel Carmilla…_

In the other room, Sookie sat with Bill and the limo driver interrogating. And although Lillian normally would have wanted to be a part of it, Bill's snappy attitude had started to get to her. So instead, she'd gone to the adjoining room. Unable to help the childish urge, she played with the button that controlled the light block curtains. Up and down, up and down.

"You don't have to be a vampire to want this."

"I know, this place is so cool. I've never been in a hotel this nice." Jessica fell into the plush chair nearby and hugged her knees to her chest, just as excited as the human. Maybe even more, she was so giddy. "And guess what I found," the young vampire pulled out a menu that didn't have the usual room service offers. "I can order just about an'one I want! Ain't that awesome! Oh I'm _so_ excited, but please don't tell Bill."

"Why would I tell him?" Lillian asked. Jessica's smile was infectious. Then Lilly looked at the menu and blinked. "Oh, that's why…" She had to tell herself that what people chose to do was their own decision. "Who am I to say anything?" she offered as she collapsed into the other chair.

Jessica put the menu down, kind of shocked. "So…you aren't goin' to stop me or anythin'? Bill told me what you do for a livin'."

Lillian picked up a second menu, this one more in tune with the food she wanted.

"If my partner was here, she'd be all over you, but we think a little differently," she told Jessica while she perused. "But the people on that list _choose_ to be here. I can't step in if they do it willingly. It's against the will that I have problems with."

"Oh, I see." Jessica looked away and thought. Then after a moment she realized that she was still puzzled. "So those vampires who…attack humans who aren't willin', you put 'em down?"

"I wish it was as black and white as that, but I also realize that sometimes the human deserves it," Lillian didn't look at Jessica as she spoke. "There are bad people just like there are bad vampires. It's my job to figure out who is exactly at fault, and deal with it from there."

The girl smiled in wonder at the hunter's reasoning, having never seen a woman so brave. "So you're like a peacekeeper or somethin', huh? You fight for what's right, not really for a side."

Smiling kindly, the woman turned back to her. "Not a lot of vampires would think that, but yeah, I guess I kind of am. I'll admit, it was easier before the vampires stepped out…but yeah, I try to fight for what's right. It's not always easy."

"I bet."

Sookie walked into the room and interrupted them. The look on her face was urgent. "We just found out who did it. The Fellowship of the Sun. "

The hunter dropped her menu in surprise.

"The Fellowship of the Sun, as in-" Her eyes closed momentarily and she shook her head. "Those fanatics have _no_ clue what they're doing." They posed as hunters but were so inept and blind by their "religious" devotion that all they did was cause problems.

"Yeah, I know. Bill's callin' Eric right now to tell him. I'm so glad you're with us, Lilly. I don't know what we woulda done back there without you."

"Yes, _I_ would have," Bill voiced and walked into the room. "I have just spoken to Eric, and he has decided to come and join us here." Lillian rolled her eyes at the information.

"Are we still meeting with the other vampires tonight?" she asked as she glanced over at Sookie. "Now more than ever I'll be sticking with you when Bill isn't around."

"We will be waiting for him. However, he will be here shortly. When he is ready, we will go and see the others." Bill looked around at the three women and sighed before he could help himself. He was now responsible for three women… "In the mean time, I suggest you eat. Do not leave this hotel room and allow no one that is not myself or your meals in."

Jessica smirked a little smirk.

* * *

_The Sheriff of Area Five…_

"The hunter hasn't pulled anything yet, has she?" inquired Eric.

Both him and Bill sat in the hotel's lobby bar, the former having just arrived. Bill was still annoyed, but as usual the sheriff didn't show much sympathy to his feelings.

"She has behaved herself, if that is what you are asking," Bill replied, purposely trying to make it seem as though the hunter in question was simply an errant child that needed to be supervised.

"Hmm. Well good. Maybe she _will_ be able to protect Sookie when you're not around. Then again, after today's events she may have to take the job fulltime," Eric taunted him with a smirk.

Bill instantly tensed. "Do you think I find this situation amusing? It is not a laughing matter and you should not be treating it as such."

Eric was only prompted to chuckle. Amused indeed. "I'm not the one who is unable to watch his human."

"I would not have to watch her as closely if we were back in Bon Temps, and not here. You will be held responsible if anything happens to her." Bill had to sit back into his chair to calm down, for surrounding people were looking at them.

"That's why I agreed to have the hunter come with," reminded Eric tightly. "Plus, as it seems, she and Sookie have already bonded."

"Sookie tends to place her trust in people rather…liberally. I have told her many times not to but she does not listen." Bill paused in thought for a moment, changed the subject. "I have already spoken with those that reside in Dallas and they are prepared to meet us, but I do not think the hunter should come."

"The hunter had said she was prepared for it. She wanted to prove herself. I'd like to see her try," a sly smile wove its way across the sheriff's face as he turned to Bill. "Don't you?"

"I do not consider humans pawns and toys," Bill replied. But inside he too wanted to see what she was capable of. The vampire stood up. "We will meet you shortly."

"Don't be late."

Eric reclined in his chair and didn't watch him go. Instead something tasty took away the vampire's attention—something tasty in the form of a lady, who winked and invited him to her services.

* * *

_Back in Bon Temps…_

A stroll had sounded like a good idea. Until the clouds disappeared completely, letting the hot sun through. The temperature became unbearable. Marylin cursed her luck aloud and started reconsidering her trip to the hick town's farmer's market, but she was almost there. With the Camaro's air-conditioning broken, there was no air circulating in the car, which made it hard to breath. There was no breeze either. Before her eyes, the thermometer rose from 90 to 95 degrees. Fuck.

So when she parked in the lot and got out, the woman's back was thoroughly soaked and sweat was dripping down her face and neck. At least the booths had overhangs. Marylin quickly went under the first, finding an array of freshly grown peaches that looked absolutely delicious.

"Only ninety-nine cents a pound? Well that's a deal."

"_It is, isn't it? I always buy my peaches from Isabel, don't I_?"

MaryAnn stood beside Marylin, smiling at the woman who stood on the other side of the stand.

"Oh yes, indeed you do, Miss," said the vender.

MaryAnn turned to Marylin and put a hand on her hip. Her coal lined eyes grinned. "You're the woman from the party. Yes, I remember now, you were with a blonde girl as well, but what's wrong? You seem sad."

Marylin riveted MaryAnn's sole concentration, the peaches suddenly forgotten.

But Marylin shrugged it off, smiling weakly as she took a peach, taking a breath of its fragrance. "It's nothing, I'm okay. I just don't like this weather. It was much cooler just yesterday."

MaryAnn looked her over a long moment and then smiled with a sudden idea.

"You must have lunch with me. Right now. I insist. Karl!" She waved her manservant over. "Just pick up the usual, and _you_, my dear," she turned back to Mar, "will be coming with me for lunch."

"Oh, I couldn't," said Marylin, shocked by the offer. "I-I don't know—"

"I won't take no for an answer. I want company. And Karl can find his own way back." MaryAnn looped her arm through Marylin's and began leading her back to her red convertible. "You'll love it. I'll make something special for you."

Marylin found that she really couldn't say no to a celebrity and so waved goodbye to her own car and sat in the red one's rich leather interior. The car looked so expensive, with its stereo system and quadruple subwoofers, she was in momentary awe.

"Are you an actress, Ms. Forrester?"

"Me?" MaryAnn laughed as she cruised down the road to the Stackhouse residence. "Oh no, not at all. I just like to help people, that's all. And you looked like you could use a little help."

"Oh." Marylin looked down at her lap, still seemingly depressed, reminded of the dead-end hunt. Of Lilly's desertion. "I guess so. We've just been a bit out of luck lately. It's a little strange."

"How so? Maybe I can help?" Her smile was so warm and inviting, triggering all the responses that in most people evoked trust.

Marylin took out her badge, which she had handy. "Well, my partner and I are from Wildlife Service. We're investigating the animal attack that happened here not long ago, and we just haven't found any more clues. Seems like that animal isn't here anymore."

"But I thought that would be a good thing. A reason to celebrate, right?"

"It just means that it could attack again somewhere else, kill more people. We can't let that happen. It's our job to find these things."

They turned into the Stackhouse driveway and it appeared that someone else was already home, spotted through the windows. The house itself was old but quaint, clearly emanating a history that was built by generations of family members. The land that it stood on was just as profound, the scenery beautiful.

"This is your house too?"

"No, this is just where I'm staying for the time being. You remember Tara from the party? This is her friend Sookie Stackhouse's home. They're being kind enough to let me stay." MaryAnn parked the car in the drive, the smile never leaving her face. "Well, let's go get started, shall we?"

Marylin followed her inside. "I already met Sookie," she said. "Actually my friend had gone with her yesterday. Not sure when they'll be back…"

"Oh, they went on a trip together? Poor thing. I wouldn't have wanted to be left behind either." MaryAnn headed straight for the kitchen and beckoned the Agent to the round table. "Take a seat. I know just the thing to cheer you up."

Marylin timidly sat, then heard footsteps behind her through the doorway. Tara appeared with who Mar guessed was her boyfriend. Both were cheerful, smiling and laughing. Entirely despite Tara's unpleasant day of work yesterday.

"MaryAnn? You brought a guest?" asked the boy.

MaryAnn pulled from ingredients from the fridge. "I found someone who I thought could use a little cheering up."

"MaryAnn is always bringin' people home," Tara said. She held a little admonishment in her smile.

"It's what I'm good at," said MaryAnn with a grin. "Just look at you two. You're perfect examples."

"We met yesterday, at _Merlotte's_," Mar informed her as the couple joined the table, pulling up chairs on either side of the hunter. "But it didn't seem like a good time. I wish we'd met in a different circumstance."

"Mm. Yeah well, some of the people in this town have their heads too far up their asses," Tara replied with a shrug, though she did smile slightly at Marylin. "I'm sorry we met that way too. I'm Tara."

The hunter nodded, felt her own smile light up her face. "Marylin."

"And I'm Benedict," said Tara's boyfriend. He extended a hand which Mar shook slightly. "But most people just call me Eggs."

"Eggs… Benedict?"

"Yep, hah. That's how it started. Kinda weird, I know, but I don't really notice when people call me it. So you know," he shrugged and glanced at Tara with a wink. "She makes fun of me about it."

"Only to knock him down from that occasional male-domineerin' thing that he does," Tara quickly replied and grinned at him.

MaryAnn simply watched them all as she prepared the meal. Already, a delicious aroma started to rise up from the pot that simmered on the stove. It caught the table's attention, drew hungry gazes.

"Mmm, MaryAnn, that your stew? Didn't know there was any more left," Eggs said, mouth watering. "MaryAnn's such a great cook, even better than Karl, I think. Karl's just good at baking n'stuff."

Marylin felt her stomach grumble. "Oh, that does smell good," she agreed. "I hadn't gotten a chance to try your stew."

"Well, it's the same recipe from the party with a few new little twists I've been considering," MaryAnn ladled it out into three bowls for them. "Enjoy! This is just what you need."

She set the stew in front of them and took a seat as well. There was a glint in her eye.

"MaryAnn, you read ma mind." Tara eagerly took a bite.

Marylin blew on a spoonful and tried it, eyes widening at once. Whatever gave the soup its red color only made it better. In fact, it was the best home-cooked meal she had in what seemed like forever.

She swallowed a couple more spoons and, in amazement, said, "I didn't realize I was so hungry. I guess I haven't eaten all day."

MaryAnn smiled wide. "Well, there's more where that came from, so you eat just as much as you'd like." Both Tara and Eggs were already working towards polishing off their bowls. And in less than five minutes, they and Marylin begged for seconds, which MaryAnn was already pouring.

"Oh, this reminds me of home," mumbled Mar between more bites. She suddenly got tears in her eyes. "My grandma used to make stews like this—and pies and chilis. She made the best chili."

"Mmm, chili," moaned Eggs, stew dripping down his chin. He didn't bother wiping it. "I like chili."

"Me too." Marylin licked her lips, unexpectedly feeling tired as well. Tears dripped into her bowl as she ate. "Thank-thank you, Ms. Forrester, thank you for this. I felt so alone before."

"It's my pleasure." MaryAnn reached out to clutch Marylin's hand. "It's my pleasure, and I hope you'll feel free to stay here as long as you want. We all know what it's like to miss home. I just hope you'll be able to find some comfort with us."

"Mhm." Marylin looked at her through a hazy gaze, finishing the second bowl. She found herself too tired for a third but didn't stop to think _why_. "I-I feel kind of embarrassed by asking you this, but can I—can I lay down on your couch for a bit? Just for a bit."

"Of course! You don't have to feel embarrassed about that. Come on, let's get you settled." MaryAnn led Marylin to the Stackhouse living room. "I said you could stay as long as you want and I meant it."

Eggs and Tara watched Marylin with grins. Too unfocused to notice (she felt dizzy), the hunter didn't see how black their eyes were, and slowly lay down upon the sofa. It felt so soft and comfortable, she felt like she could sleep through the entire day. MaryAnn shone like an angel above.

"I'll just take a quick nap."

"Of course, my dear." MaryAnn grinned slyly when Marylin's eyes finally closed.

Eggs let out a snort in the kitchen. "Well, that went fast."

Marylin floated back to the kitchen and sat with them again. "And it will only get easier, my dears."

* * *

"Shoulda told me there'd be two of 'em, Isabel. What the hell're _you_ here for?" The vampire that addressed Lillian sneered with growing antagonism. One human was bad enough. "Why not bring a couple more, Eric? Then we could feed the whole nest."

"How dare you!" gasped Sookie. Stan only chuckled darkly at her reaction.

"Moral support," replied Lillian with a shrug. She wasn't nearly as shocked as Sookie, for Lilly half-expected that type of reaction from the Texas vampires.

"She is mine, and you will not harm her," Bill told them, coming to stand beside his girlfriend and putting an arm protectively around her waist.

Eric strolled into the room, hands clasped behind his back. "Forgive him. He's a bit of a drama queen when it comes to his human. Unnaturally attached."

"Not at all," said the vampire called Isabel. Unlike her fellow deputy, she smiled warmly at the humans. Her dark, elegant appearance contrasted her friendly demeanor. "I have a companion as well." Stan made a noise of disgust in his throat that said all he thought about those kinds of unions.

Isabel rolled her eyes in his direction. She was well used to his opinions. "You are both welcome here," she said to the humans.

Stan felt as though his own jurisdiction was being intruded upon and hotly snapped: "You've got no right to extend that invitation. Godric's not here and yer not Sheriff."

"_Godric_ would've done the same. He prefers peace, not war," Isabel reminded.

Eric finally wanted to get to business. "Are you certain he was abducted by the Fellowship of the Sun?" he questioned.

"Yes," answered Stan, while Isabel said, "No."

Stan growled exasperatedly at her. "Only they've got the manpower and organization to execute such a move. There can be no one else, 'specially after what happened to your," he glanced at Bill, "_human_."

Lillian didn't want Stan to singularly lock onto that point. "While that does show that they're behind something, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're behind your Sheriff's disappearance."

But Stan turned and glared at her while Bill sighed at her interruption.

"And I would recommend that you keep yer comments to yourself, human."

Rather than answering, Lillian clenched her teeth and turned her back on him. She went to stand beside the doused fireplace. Eric glanced at her with a faint smirk as he passed.

"Their numbers are growing greater, but that doesn't explain how they were able to capture him," he pointed out to his fellow vampires.

"Exactly," Isabel agreed, shooting a glare at Stan. "It's Godric we're talking about—_two-thousand_ years old. The church couldn't have surpassed him. They're amateurs, they don't know what they're doing. "

Lillian felt herself smile at that, knowing she'd said something very similar earlier that day.

"But they're also the only ones that would do it," Stan argued. "No one else would be that stupid."

"Are you sure about that?" Bill spoke. "There are plenty of beings out there foolish enough or perhaps desperate enough to try."

"I could easily believe that," Isabel said, and gave Stan another glare.

"Look, if they've really got him, _I'll_ find out," said Sookie, fully confident in herself. "It won't be a problem. They won't be able to hide anythin' from me. I'll hear everythin'."

"Sookie," Bill warned. But it was the confused look on Lillian's face that stole his attention.

"Sookie, what do you mean?" the hunter asked, fighting a wave of distrust.

Sookie turned around with a wince and knew she should've told her earlier. "I probably should've told you earlier…and you were probably wonderin' why exactly they needed me here. See, I have this ability—"

"_Sookie_, don't—" cautioned Bill again, but Sookie waved him off.

"I have this ability, Lilly… I can read minds. I know how it sounds—_really crazy_—but it's true, and if you want, I can even read your mind to prove it. But I didn't before, I promise. I don't intrude on my friends' heads. Heh."

The hunter studied her and stood as still as stone. It certainly explained a lot of things. But this was _not_ the time to discuss it, here in front of vampires that obviously all knew of this ability. In her opinion, Lilly should have been told before ever boarding that plane. It was a little too late and hindsight was 20:20.

"It's okay, we'll talk about it later," she reassured her a bit tightly.

"It shouldn't even matter what she knows!" yelled Stan, who was sick of all the simpering humans and their theatrics. "We're already ready to move on the Fellowship of the Sun. We'll get Godric back ourselves!"

"And if they don't have him?" Lillian asked him defiantly. "You realize you'll be consigning every vampire to war against the humans."

"No," said Isabel quickly. The delicate worry on her face grew to sharp apprehension as she looked at Stan again. "We will _not_ be invading the church. That would be the last thing we would do."

"It should not even be on your list," Bill told her.

But Sookie lit up with realization and leapt forth with an idea. "Wait! I'll invade it. Well, infiltrate it, rather—secretly!"

The human and vampires all stared at her.

"Absolutely not—!"

"Silence, Bill. I want to hear her out," snapped Eric suddenly.

"_I_ will infiltrate the church," reiterated Sookie, "and Lilly can come with me, that why I won't be alone. No one knows who we are so I don't see why this won't work. We'll go there pretendin' like we want to join the church, they'll welcome us in."

"The Fellowship of the Sun certainly _does_ know who you are, or have you forgotten what happened at the airport?" Bill asked his girlfriend now that she had finished explaining the entirely insane plan.

"Actually, Bill, they don't." Bill snarled at Lillian as she spoke. "They really don't. When we walked up to the limo driver, it was like he couldn't tell which one of us was Sookie. We're both blonde. I don't think they know who she is."

"It is too dangerous! I will not allow it!" Bill yelled. "And that is final!"'

"Yes we will," Eric objected. Hope shone anew in his eyes as he gazed at the two humans. "If it leads us to Godric, we'll do it."

"You're gonna let two human girls, two lil' damsels, do it for us when it can be done by us much more effectively?" spat Stan, appalled. "This is a goddamn waste of time then."

Eric's anger rose and he hissed at him. "Where's your loyalty to your Sheriff? Something tells me that you don't want to find him. Something tells me that _you_ were the traitor!"

"Eric," Isabel said. She moved to stand beside Stan. She had to defend her fellow colleague, after all. "Stan is headstrong and at times, stupid, but he is not a traitor."

"I think two little damsels could take this matter a lot more carefully than a bull in a china shop, _Stan_," said Lillian. Now she'd done it—she'd gone and baited him. Stan looked like he wanted to kill her, and if it weren't for Isabel, he would've. "We can take care of ourselves just fine amongst a group full of fanatics, and possibly come out of this without a war breaking out between the two peoples."

"Why doesn't she just go in by herself then?" Bill asked, blinded by his worry for Sookie. "She can pretend to be Sookie and find out if Godric is there _that_ way."

"Bill…" Sookie tried to calm him, put a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. You don't have to worry. It's really easy and simple. And Lilly will be there with me. You know I trust her, so you should too—"

Eric cut her off, tightly saying, "Bill, you're running on my last nerve. It's already decided, so we won't discuss it further."

"Fuckin' ridiculous." Stan stomped for the door, grabbing his ten-gallon hat. He cursed them all.

Isabel watched him go and sighed. "I don't know how much time you'll have," she told the girls, ignoring the testosterone-filled men. "If it takes too long, it's likely that Stan will go through with his plans."

"We understand that we don't have all the time in the world. But if your Sheriff is there, I will find him," Lillian reassured. "And if I can't get him out myself, I'll send word."

"Sookie just needs to call for me and I will come," Bill promised.

Sookie rubbed his arm. "I know you will, Bill."

Bill swallowed and glanced up at Eric. "May I speak with you out in the next room?" he asked of his Sheriff. "I will be right back, Sookie."

"Mm. I suppose." Though he was loath, Eric for once obliged and followed him out, while a smiling Isabel stayed with the women.

"It seems like the easiest way to do this would be to go as sisters," Lillian suggested. "Isabel, do you think we could pass as sisters?"

The vampire looked the two girls over. "I think that would be quite easy to believe."

Sookie grinned, excited. "Oh, this'll work so well, I just know it!"


	5. Run Through the Jungle

Whoa, thought it was a nightmare,  
Lo, it's all so true,  
They told me, "Don't go walking slow  
'Cause Devil's on the loose."

~ CCR

. . .

_Morning: Marylin wakes up disoriented on the couch and realizes she slept the whole night at the Stackhouse's. With no one else up, she hurriedly leaves, finding her car in the driveway, and drives away._

_

* * *

_

"_I think that dress looks great on you, Lilly, I don' know what you're talkin' about. Pink suits you very well. Oh, look, I think that's her—Sarah Newlin. She…kinda looks like a Barbie I used to have."_

Sookie got out of their borrowed Prius and squinted across the parking lot. The Church ahead was huge. No, it was massive. In fact, she didn't think massive did it enough justice. The building was a towering stone and glass structure that not only seemed to house a church but a Sunday school as well. Maybe even an actual school, and then several adjoining buildings that might've been offices. People were flocking to it like it was a beacon.

"Where in the world did they get the money?" Sookie was still in shock when she and Lilly started walking towards the landmark. Lillian smoothed the small flare of her dress, wondered how she was supposed to protect Sookie when she was dressed like this.

"I have no idea. But religious people seem to be able to magic money out of thin air sometimes…" she replied with just as much wonder. The church was truly huge.

"Well, hi there!" Sarah Newlin called out to them. She trotted over in her tight skirt and heels, waving her hand. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"So're we!" replied Lillian with a fiend grin of excitement.

"We're just so excited to be here," said Sookie. "Your church is…so big and so amazin'. I don't think we'd ever seen anything like it."

"Aw, really?" the permed blonde laughed. "Well it took a lot of buildin' it and we're all so proud. Everyone's welcome. Well, not _everyone_," she had to quickly correct, "but you sure are. Come on in." She led them inside. "It just so happens that my husband is available so he can see you about your membership."

"Oh we've just been waitin' for this for so long," Lilly gushed.

Sarah Newlin gave a giddy giggle. "Well, the time is now."

Lillian looked over at Sookie, though never dropped her smile. "But, I didn't realize we were gonna get to see the Reverend so soon…"

"It just happens to be your lucky day! He isn' free often, but when he is, he even gives personal tours of our church to our newest members. I can tell you he's just as thrilled as I am."

Sookie stared in awe at the lobby they walked through—the alabaster marble, the geometrically carved detail and towering columns.

"I can't tell you how relieved my sister an' I were when we were able to get a hold of you. We were so happy to leave our old church. Yours—yours just seems like it'll get us on the true path straightaway. Doesn't it, Aggy?"

"And not lead us astray by wrongful teachin's," added Lillian in agreement.

"Unfortunately, the darkness has spread to our brothers and sisters in other churches, but we pride ourselves in stayin' in the light," Sarah Newlin rattled off, like it was ingrained in her brain.

Fortunately Reverend Newlin's office wasn't any further. And when they got there, they found him at his desk with a smile so phony that Sookie and Lilly tried not to visibly grimace from the nausea his cellophane teeth induced in them. He told them to take a seat. Sarah Newlin quickly trotted to her perch at his shoulder.

The two newcomers both smiled sweetly at the Reverend, who sat like a peacock in his chair.

"I'm so glad you could make it, ladies. Hope we found you well on this darn good beautiful day. Why don'cha begin tellin' us what made you want to join our Fellowship?"

Lillian looked over at Sookie briefly before looking back at the Reverend. "I'm… Well, I'm kind of ashamed, Reverend."

"Don't be ashamed. In the light, everything is forgiven," Sarah Newlin encouraged in her sickly-sweet voice.

With a brief swallow and modest nod, Lilly continued. "We'd been in our church since we were little kids. Our family had always been there, but what we didn't realize had also always been there were…" Lillian bit her bottom lip and clenched her hands in her lap to let Sookie continue. Not because she couldn't do it herself, but by sharing the story, it seemed more believable.

Sookie opened her mouth. The Reverend raised his finger, disgust on his face. "I know. Homosexuals!"

"Well, uh, they coulda been there too," said Sookie, startled by his hate. "We don't know for sure. See, our pastor was…kinda of iffy, at least that's what we later came to find out." She sighed, taking Lilly's hand, shook her head sadly. "He was just awful, wasn't he? The things he said to us."

The Reverend and his wife gasped, but they quickly seemed to misunderstand.

"Oh, you poor things! That's horrible!"

Mr. Newlin's glare narrowed. "He did somethin' real bad to you, didn't he? He had a dirty mind."

Perhaps it would be easier than she thought—Lillian cued the waterworks. Her eyes welled but didn't quite fall. She moved her other hand to cover Sookie's.

"W-we never told anybody…" The corner of her mouth quivered and moved Sarah Newlin altogether. The blonde woman came around the desk to the two younger ones and wrapped her arms around them both.

"You can let go of your fear and hurt here. Let the light bathe you in its warmth and cleanse you…" she prayed fervently with her eyes closed.

"Thank you," Sookie whispered. But she kept one of her eyes open, watching the Reverend Newlin while his wife called them down. He was looking out the window, his thoughts elsewhere.

_Tonight's the night. Finally we'll show the world what creatures from damnation they are! We will light up the darkness and be asked to lead the entire world back to salvation. I can't _wait_ till that platform's finished. That vampire downstairs will burn like barbeque, yee-ha!_

Sookie choked on her snort and quickly covered it up with a cough. "Thank you. Oh, thank you two so much. Sarah Newlin, you're like the older sister we never had."

Lillian pulled one of her hands free from Sookie's hands and wiped her eyes, nodding in agreement with Sookie's words. "We haven' been here very long, but…I feel so much better already."

Sarah Newlin smiled gently at them and let them go. "Well, now you're home."

Sookie and Lillian exchanged wary glances.

_A little while later…_

"We're so glad that you agreed to stay longer. It's going to be so much fun! Your old church didn' do lock-ins, did it?"

"Uh, we did go to a couple, but they weren't that great," said Sookie.

They heard what sounded like an intimidating mass of people behind the large cherry-wood double doors that they stood in front of. Sarah Newlin was about to show them what she called the "Hall of His Glorious Light".

"Oh, this is one of the best parts of the day—when the sun is settin', not gone just yet," she gushed.

"But the sunrise will be even better!" said the Reverend.

He appeared with a new couple at his side. "We sure got a surprise in store for you! It's outside, almost ready. In the meantime, Agnes, Holly, you're in even more luck t'day 'cause we got two more newcomers. This is Sue and Bob. They've escaped the evil claws of their old church, too."

Sue and Bob smiled at Sookie and Lilly, startling them with unexpected hugs. The wife was a tall, lanky woman with dull hair and a thin smile, while her husband was a thick, stout man with alarmingly thick glasses and a crooked smile that was hard not to laugh at. Sookie and Lillian barely managed to keep it together.

"It's nice ta meetchu," Lillian told them with a smile, lightly patted them on the backs in their awkward hug.

"So, since you're both new, we were hoping that maybe you four stick together! It's easier to meet new people when you've got friends around you," Sarah Newlin clasped her hands over her heart. "So here are some pillows and blankets, and a schedule of events." She gestured over to a closet that was heaped with sleeping necessities. "We always want everything to be perfect for our lock-ins."

Sookie's own smile strained while she forced it to hold. "Heh. That's great, because we were a little worried 'cause we didn't have anythin' with us. Guess there's no need to go back home."

"'Course not! Now prepare to be bathed in the light of our Savoir…" the Reverend began to open the door and a gold glow blossomed through. "Welcome to our family."

The newcomers gasped at what they saw.

It was a massive hall indeed, a hall filled with the light of the setting sun, streaming in a million directions. The walls were made of glass, cut in intricate geometric shapes. The pews stood glowing like bronze, like they were made by God himself. Thrones for his children to sit and worship in—and maybe even sleep sometimes they were so comfortable-looking. Money was clearly spent without indecision.

But there before them was the mass. Their sole attention was on the Sookie and Lilly, who were ushered inside before Bob and Sue. Tears in their eyes, the couple took each other's hands and uttered whimpers of joy.

Reverend Newlin raised his arm in salute to his faction. "Le'sall give a round of applause to our newest members!"

The crowd irrupted in cheers.

This was so much more than Lillian had expected. Right then and there she knew they'd have to abandon the sneaking-in-under-the-radar approach. But it was still okay. This could be used to their advantage as well. With people knowing that they were new, they would be more willing to overlook questions. Not to mention, with the other couple there, it might allow Sookie and her to wander off to find Godric. It wasn't hard to see that something big was brewing, and the feeling made a pit form in her stomach.

"Now, we're gonna let you two get all cozy and mingle. We'll see you at dinner! And the concert is right after that!" The Reverend Newlin left them then to go walk amongst his people, smiling and laughing as he went.

Sarah Newlin found herself drawn to the two young blondes a little more than she was to the other couple. "Now, if you need anything, you just give a holler, okay?"

"Uh-huh. Thanks again, Sarah Newlin," Sookie said, feigning a chuckle of excitement. "I can already tell it's gonna be fun."

Sarah Newlin lovingly touched both of their cheeks. The light behind her formed a bright outline around her head that almost but not quite made a halo.

"See, I knew you two would feel right at home. You two are cute as buttons. I wish I had little sisters while I was growin' up." _They're so innocent, so in need of guidance. I don't know why Steve's so paranoid about spies comin' in. These two certainly can't be ones._

When Sarah Newlin finally left them to explore and mingle on their own, Lillian turned to Sue and Bob and gave them her own forced smile.

"Do you want to go find a place to sleep and we'll grab all of the pillows and blankets?" she suggested, knowing it was the easiest way to ditch them.

"That's a great idea. We'll make sure it's nice and comfy spot," Sue said. And she and her husband took each other's hands and headed off toward the pews.

Sookie watched them. When they were out of earshot, let out a groan. "Egh, talk about brainwash. Do you know how much they were sayin' 'Praise the Lord' in their heads? Like over a hundred times." She quickly snuck with Lilly back out of the hall.

"It took everything I had to not slap them." Lillian looked around cautiously as they stood in the hallway. "Did you hear anything? I've got a bad feeling about all of this."

"They really are lookin' for their spies, but Sarah Newlin likes us so much now that she doesn't even suspect it's us. Reverend Newlin seems oblivious too, but we gotta watch ourselves around him. So far, though, I think we're doing great. You're such a good actress, Lilly. I was kinda shocked back there."

"Oh please," Lillian said with a grin in her mock southern accent. "Did you hear anything about Godric?"

"His name wasn't mentioned, but back in the office, I heard Newlin sayin' somethin' about a vampire downstairs and a barbeque at sunrise. Maybe that's the surprise they're talking about," Sookie whispered. Just then, they heard footsteps and saw more people arrive to join the lock-in.

They waved and the girls quickly waved back.

"We can't stay in there all night," said Sookie once they were gone.

"Nope. We need to find a way downstairs." Lillian watched another small group go into the Hall of His Glorious Light. Then she looked up and down the hallway, though paused. "I think our best chance… Would be to go to dinner and wait until the concert. Everyone will be there and it'll be loud, so we'll have a much better chance of searching."

Sookie suppressed her nerves and nodded. "Okay. Good idea. Later we'll have to call in to report what we've found out."

"I just want to report in with something to give them. Reporting in with nothing doesn't really work for me." As they stood there, a bell rang. "Guess that means dinner is on. Let's go eat." She smiled reassuringly at the nervous waitress. "Then we get to work."

* * *

"_How amazingly exhilaratin' was that! Oh, tell me you haven't had this much fun in years. Nothin' beats being with your own, huh, Sam_?"

Daphne nudged her boss playfully, pulled on her shirt. They were both sweating and panting, tired from their magnificent run through the countryside. There they were able to be themselves, run free through the night, where no pesky humans could find them. But now Daphne led Sam somewhere else with the promise of even more fun and excitement.

"You're not tired, are ya, Sammy?"

"No, of course not," he told her with a chuckle, and reached out to try and snag her hand. She danced just out of reach. "Where we goin' anyway? Don't you want to go for another run? Maybe a swim?"

They were now walking down a country road where the treetops vaguely formed a cathedral ceiling over them.

Daphne smiled demurely and trotted alongside Sam. "Mm… I got a different surprise for you, but I promise it'll be just as excitin'. It's not that far ahead. You like surprises, doncha?"

"Not really," he admitted. And though his eyes looked a little confused, his smile didn't leave his face. "What do you have for me?" He reached out and snagged her waist with his arm, pulled her up in front of him. "Come on, you can tell me."

"Nah, that would ruin it and then it won't be as fun." Daphne enjoyed toying with him. His reactions were just so cute. "You're just goin' to have to be patient with me, Sam Merlotte. You trust me, don'chu?"

Ahead, they began to hear the faint call of drums and Daphne's smile grew. There was also the smell of incense in the air, swirling around them and through the trees, leading them further down the path.

The sounds had Sam's senses tingling and made him stop walking. "Daphne, what's goin' on? I'm not playin' anymore."

Daphne offhandedly inquired: "You haven' heard from that pesky hunter today, have you?"

He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders to hold her still. "What about Marylin? Daphne, what's goin' on?"

Suddenly, a man and a woman (half-naked) jumped out of the trees on either side of them. They grabbed Sam, and Daphne quickly yanked away from him, expression wrought with betrayal.

"Nothin'. We just made sure the hunter wouldn't bother us tonight, that's all. We don't need her ruinin' what we've got in store for you, Sam, and you should know how those hunters are. They're out to kill us all."

"Wait—_what_? Daphne!" Sam struggled against the people holding him. But they had strength far beyond what they should've. "Let me go! What did you do with her, Daphne?" They pulled him towards the drums and smoke. "_Daphne_!"

Sam was led closer and closer to the light, and soon the country road opened up into a clearing where there was a huge bonfire in the middle. All around, people were gyrating and dancing, laughing and yelling. And even more alarming, nearly all of them _fornicating_. Unabashed. Right out in the open. Moaning. Orgasming.

Sam was dragged through this madness to what looked like an altar, where MaryAnn stood waiting with a long, gleaming knife.

"I'm sorry, Sam." Daphne leaned in to kiss his cheek. Then laughed. "Well, no I'm actually not." Sam watched in horror as she trotted off and produced a mask. It was bull's head, which she placed carefully on her waiting mistress. On her head. So MaryAnn appeared half-bull, half-woman. Her hands grew into claws.

Fear lanced through him at the sight, a living nightmare. It was more than obvious what was going to happen.

"N-no. NO!" Sam's final word was screamed. He struggled with everything he had against the arms that held him. He couldn't even shift into something small to escape. "NO!" The man kicked up his feet, tried to twist in every direction, every way. No avail.

"Come on now, Sam," Daphne said from behind MaryAnn. "It's not so bad."

MaryAnn began to chant and so did everyone else. The language was unknown but ancient-sounding—dark and séance-like. Sam was shoved onto a stone chopping block, neck laid bare. And the knife hovered over him, ready to strike, ready to end his life.

That is until Andy Bellefleur managed to wander in on the spectacle and his jaw dropped open.

The mass continued to fornicate, dance naked, celebrate whatever it was they were celebrating. Their eyes were black. And there in the middle, Andy saw the sacrifice.

"S-Sam? Jesus fucking Christ! SAM!" Drunkenly, he fired his gun into the air. The bullet hit a tree, but the split second divergence was enough to interrupt the ritual. Momentarily. Then, they were back to their fun, ignored him completely once again.

"Andy?" Sam tried to see past the crowd. "Oh, _God_—!" he choked out.

"Not yet, Sam, but with your sacrifice, he will come," the shaking, bull-headed creature told him. Its tone blurred, deepening.

Then another shot sounded, yet it wasn't the cop. Everyone looked in the other direction, to where a woman was standing on the edge of the clearing. She held a gun, fully prepared to fire again. In fact, she did. This time screams of pain wrenched the air. Those closest to Sam fell to the ground, clutching their limbs, blood blossoming beneath their hands.

"Sam, RUN!"

Marylin set off at a sprint towards Andy, while trying to get a good aim at the bull. A shot missed and hit another possessed person.

Sam hesitated for only a moment before leaping to his feet. The man tore out of there and ran across the clearing. But an angry roar had him come to a stumbling halt. He turned back around to see the bull raise its arms into the air and scream again in rage. The creature fixed a black glare at the hunter who dared to steal her sacrifice. Marylin stumbled back with sudden fear, for the bullets had no effect. She had no choice but to flee herself. She ran. She ran from the clearing after Sam. And managed to leave an Andy Bellefleur dazed and confused on the ground.

The Bull set off after at once.

Sam knew that he couldn't simply leave Marylin.

"Goddammit," he swore. Stopping in the middle of the road, he ripped all of his clothes off. Heedless of the fact that he was now standing naked in front of her, Sam suddenly changed from man to bay-colored horse. The beast pawed at the ground, looking back at the hunter, and suddenly kneeled its front legs down. It was clear invitation. A hurried one.

But Marylin had jumped back in stun and nearly dropped her gun. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"What the hell? S-Sam, what are-?"

With no time left, the horse cried out for her to just hurry and get on. MaryAnn was nearing fast, claws outstretched and horns gleaming sharp. The horse blew out a breath of annoyance through his nose and then stood up. He ran straight at her, turning at the last moment so that he wouldn't run her down. His turn was so tight that had she not grabbed onto his mane, she would have been knocked over. The horse used her sudden grip to jump sideways, made her fall towards him. And in swift motion, he groveled onto the ground and twisted so that she actually fell across his broad back. With the bull fast approaching and Marylin now lying across his back, he then took off.

Marylin was so shocked as she gripped his mane that she barely saw ahead, her eyes tearing in the wind. Her senses were scrambled. Sam was a shifter and she hadn't even noticed before. She never truly realized his strange behavior, not even questioned why he knew who she was. It all fit so well and she had been completely oblivious.

What the hell else did this hick little town have hidden?

Close behind, the Bull roared and didn't stop.

Once Marylin managed to sit properly, Sam was able to run as fast as he could. He wasn't a large horse, but he was a swift one. If they took the forest, it was more than likely that Sam would break a leg and then it would be over. So they stuck to a clear path. It was their only chance.

The Bull kept chasing them. Even once they'd cleared the trees and passed the Stackhouse place, it still kept it up, never tired. And Sam still ran on. Froth gathered at the corners of his mouth, and with withers were slick with sweat. While it was true that horses could run great distances without stopping, even they had their limits.

A couple miles more and then his knees began to shake. Sam realized he could run no further and had to stop. His and Marylin's breaths caught when they looked back. They expected to be done for, for the Bull to appear around the bend. The wind shook the willows of the bog, birds left the trees.

But miraculously their pursuer was nowhere to be found.

More winded than he had gotten in a long time, the horse managed to let Marylin slide off his back before he fell to his knees and rolled over onto his side. She quickly backed away, not reaching for her gun but not trusting him either. Her car was nearby, hidden between the shrubs. Now she was torn about taking him with her.

"So, y-you were a shapeshifter and neither of us even knew it," the woman scoffed. "Is that why you were about to get guillotined back there…by a bipedal _bull_?"

The horse opened one of its large brown eyes and slowly climbed to its shaking legs. It trotted behind the bushes. Sam appeared behind them in less than an instant and was completely nude. However, the hedge he stood behind conveniently blocked him from the waist down.

"Yeah, I _am_ a shapeshifter. Why do you think I freaked out so bad when I found out what you were? I've been hunted by your type before."

"And have you ever wondered why?" Marylin said spitefully. "Most of you that I met screw with humans, gang together and rob from them. Some of you have even killed on occasion."

"And what about you humans? Humans who beat or kill whatever they can't understand?" he threw back. "Why is it always poor little you?" Had he not met Daphne, he would have been shocked to hear that there were other shifters. Now the reminder just stung him.

The hunter crossed her arms to resist any urges of taking care of him right then and there.

"Some people are ignorant, but if you've seen what I've seen, then you'd realize how dark the world really is. Humans are always the targets. Like what the hell happened there?" She pointed back to where they came. "Did you see all those people?"

"Yeah, humans are always the targets, which was why _your_ head was back there on the choppin' block, huh?" Sam just shook his head. "Stay away from MaryAnn, Agent _Gold_. In fact, I'd suggest you leave Bon Temps altogether." With that, the shifter turned away from her and started walking back through the forest. He almost disappeared in the dark.

But Marylin made after him, suddenly alarmed. "_MaryAnn_? What?"

The sound of her voice made him stop. With a sigh, he looked back to her.

"MaryAnn is behind all of this. She's dangerous and she can't be killed. That thing, that Bull, _is_ MaryAnn. She was controlling all of those people."

"What?" gasped the hunter. "But I was at her house yesterday…and I woke up there this morning."

Worry seized Sam's face. He took a couple strides towards her. "What did you do? Tell me exactly what happened!"

"I-I went into town yesterday, after Lilly left, and met MaryAnn at the market. She invited me to lunch, took me to Sookie Stackhouse' place because that's when she said she was staying. I told her what we were doing here…and then I remember falling asleep on her couch."

Instinctively, Marylin reached for her neck. But to her horror, she didn't find what she thought was still there. An amulet that most hunters wore to ward off evil was gone.

"Shit!" She searched her neck again, her shirt, her pockets and even spun to look at the ground. It was nowhere to be found. "My charm, that's supposed to ward off demons—possession. I always have it on, but it's now—it's gone."

"Goddamit!" Sam lifted his hands to clasp on the top of his head. "She's had you." The man let his hands drop down to his sides. "Your charm is gone. She probably took it off while you were sleepin'. That food you ate?" he shook his head. "It's how she… I don't know, _warps_ the minds of her followers."

Though the Bull was no longer in sight, he knew they had to move. "Throw me your jacket." Sam held his hand out for it.

Marylin obliged, winced slightly when something hard in her pocket hit his thigh. "Careful, there's some stuff in there. My car's not far. I have to call Lilly. _Fuck_, but she's in Dallas."

Sam tied the arm sleeves around his waist and came out of the bushes.

"Let's go." He had a feeling that the hard thing that had hit him was either a gun or a knife, neither of which he really wanted to think about.

* * *

The music blared throughout the hall. Strobe lights and spotlights zoomed all along the glass panels as Christian anti-vampire rock blared from the speakers. Lillian reached over and discreetly touched Sookie's hand to get her to follow her. It was the time that they got to business. Sookie had been able to discover that the vampire being held was down in the basement. Now, it was Lillian's job to try to find a way down there undetected.

"I can't believe I'm still in a dress," she hissed to Sookie. They snuck down the hallway outside of the hall. For once, no one was seen. They were completely alone.

"Well, it made our cover work," Sookie pointed out, while listening carefully for any thought-broadcasters. "Imagine what they'd think if you came in those ripped jeans and flannel shirt of yours. Plus, I think you need some pink in your life, maybe for when you're not on your job."

"I can't think of any time I'm not on the job," Lilly grumbled as she carefully opened doors to see where they led. "And I like my ripped jeans. What's wrong with flannel?"

As they continued looking, a pair of men appeared down the end of the hall, walking towards them. Thankfully though, Lillian spotted a woman's bathroom sign and giggled purposefully, dragging Sookie in by the hand.

They waited inside beside the door until the men would pass.

"I think it's down the hall," Lillian whispered. "I saw stairs when they stepped out of that door."

Sookie nodded and listened, hearing one of the men's thoughts clearly.

_That two-thousand-year-old vamp's gonna burn like paper in a fire, and we're all gonna watch as Reverend Newlin casts him to hell. _

_Halleluiah! Can't wait! This'll sure show the world. _

Sookie frowned, looked at Lilly. "I'm hearin' the same old stuff. Everyone's excited to burn Godric. We need to hurry up and find him."

Lillian nodded. With the men now gone, she stepped back out into the hallway and hurried to the final door. When she opened it, they saw a surprising warm, yellow light at the end of the staircase. As quietly as they could, the two girls hurried down the steps on their heels. They heard absolutely nothing while they descended—no sounds, no thoughts. Only the sound of their footfalls echoed through the air.

The hallway they arrived to was empty but led far to the right, where they saw branching doorways.

"Godric?" Sookie took her chance to call, swallowing. "Godric, are you there?"

Lillian rolled her eyes and looked back at the girl, shaking her head. "We can't just call out, Sook."

"_But why not? It only further proves how _disgustin'_ you are_."

The voice was cheery and belonged to only one man.

The hunter and waitress spun around to find Reverend Newlin smiling at them, along with two other very large looking men. They stood beside him with their arms crossed over their muscley chests.

"Well, this went well." Lillian dropped her fake accent.

"For us," agreed Newlin as he walked down the steps. He effectively blocked the way out with Tweedle Dee and Dum. "You think we wouldn' find you? Did you think we wouldn' figure out who you were? Two ditzy _sluts_, claimin' to be sisters."

"_Excuse me_!" Sookie said, offended.

But Newlin didn't bother apologizing. He led her and Lilly straight into the wall behind them. "Sorry, but no can do. We can't excuse you for what you've done. We all know the Lord sure wouldn'. You _fangbangers_! Gabe, Dan—" The evil Reverend snapped his fingers.

"Sookie, just stay back," Lillian told her, her eyes switching back and forth between the two men. They looked more like meat-heads than anything else. When the first advanced, she nearly tripped over her own feet in the stupid heels. So, she kicked them off and picked up one in her hand.

"Alright," she said, as if now giving them permission to try and take her out.

The first man dove at her and tried to grab her around the middle. Easily, she ducked under his grasp and kneed him straight in the gut. Then stepped out of the way and gave him a quick kidney punch. The man howled and fell to the floor.

Then the second man yelled and tried his own skills at the crazed woman. Ducking a punch, Lilly took her heeled shoe and slammed the spike down into this thigh. But her momentary victory was short lived—the blunt end of a wooden stake cracked her in the back of the head. The girl crumpled instantly on the floor. And Reverend Newlin looked down at her, smiling.

"Would you grab them now, you two idiots? Oh, what's that? Blood?" the Reverend asked the man who pulled the shoe out of his leg. Blood dripped onto the floor. "Deal with it. Come on. Up on your feet. The Light can't have slow soldiers."

Fear flaring in her eyes, Sookie watched as the other man tried to grab her. Kicking and screaming, she fought him with everything she had. Then when the other bozo came around and held her down, she had no choice but to give in. One of their hands collided with her cheek and sent horrible pain through her whole face.

They dragged both her and Lilly into a closet (which was more like a cage) and locked them in. All the while, Newlin chuckled evilly and watched.

"Hope you have a good rest of the night, 'cause I know I sure will. You two get comfy. You're gonna be here a long while…"

"You asshole!" Sookie shouted from the floor beside an unconscious Lilly.

"Ooh, and the kitty _does_ hiss. Well, too bad the kitty's gonna burn in hell one day."

"You just watch. The vampires are gonna get here any minute and it won't be pretty for you—any of you!"

The Reverend turned on his heel and his goons followed like obedient canines.

* * *

Sam left his bathroom to find Marylin with a bag of salt that she was pouring along a windowsill. While he changed, she'd already lined the door and vents and anything else that could be used as entryways into his house. Before he began to demand why she was doing it, she started explaining.

"Since we don't have goofer dust, salt will work for the time being. Don't break the lines and stay inside them. They should protect us, keep things out. Do you have any chalk?" Marylin moved onto another window and looked back at him. "I called an old friend, Bobby, and told him what happened. I'm hoping he'll finally call back."

"Chalk? Uh… Yeah, at the bar I do." Though she said what it was all for, it was clear he didn't quite understand how it would exactly work. "I'll go grab it. I'll be fast. It'll be fine," he said, before she could protest, and quickly stepped out the door.

He was back three minutes later.

"The better option would be to just leave," he said, and gave her the chalk since it seemed so important. Sighing aloud, Marylin knelt and started drawing a sigil before the door, to add to the protection. A pentagram with symbols between each five ends. "A pentagram? _That's_ gonna protect us?"

"It has nothing to do with the devil," Marylin said a little irritably. "A pentagram brings protection. The one in reverse is evil. Tonight we'll have to stay here in your trailer. I tried calling Lillian but she wasn't answering either. If Bobby doesn't find anything, then we really will just leave. I can't do a mass exorcism on all those people."

"O-_kay_…" This was all a little above Sam's comprehension. Exorcisms, salt, chalk-drawn pentagrams he thought were satanic—none of it really made sense to him. "You need anything else?"

"No, just sit tight and I'll be done soon." Concentrating on her work, Marylin made sure the Devil's Trap was perfect. Then she moved onto the window by the couch and started drawing a smaller one there, noticing Sam's skepticism out of the corner of her eye. "This really does keep them out. That's how my charm worked."

"I'm sure." He kept his exasperated comments to himself. Whatever made her feel safe would work for him. Rather than stand there and stare at her, he moved to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers. It would help calm his nerves, which were yelling at him to get out and run and not stop until he was states away.

"For a shapeshifter," began Marylin distractedly, moving to the last window, "you really don't know much about the world you come from. I'm kind of shocked."

Sam went to stand beside one of the windows she had already completed, to look out into the dark woods. Trees swayed, shadows moved eerily, the waning moon shone too bright for his liking.

"Why should I know about it?" he asked her. "I didn't even know it even really existed until a few days ago."

"Well it does, so perhaps you should to learn more," she suggested. "Have you heard of werewolves?"

"Who hasn't heard of them?" Sam had run into a couple of them. Of course, thinking about them brought those feelings of betrayal right back up to the surface again. He and Daphne had had a similar conversation.

Marylin dusted off her hands and brought the chalk back to him.

"That's what Lillian and I thought we were hunting after," she clarified, figuring he'd want to know. "We tracked the bull…or MaryAnn, whatever it was, all the way from Pennsylvania. There'd been similar attacks. Most of them happened on a full moon and with the missing hearts, well, we thought it couldn't be anything else."

"She's far worse than a werewolf," Sam said as he held out the second bottle of beer. "That's why when your friend gets back, you have to leave."

"Not until we figure out what she is and if there's a way to kill her." The hunter went to take a seat in a nearby chair. "We can't just let it go."

"You realize that she'll kill you if she gets you, right? You stole me out from beneath her. She won't forgive that." Sam walked towards her, wanting her to see how serious he was. "You have made a bigger enemy than you realize."

Marylin smiled a bitter smile, which showed no traces of trepidation, only a stinging that shone in her eyes, a clouded memory of pain. "I've made worse enemies before," she said. "And I think you underestimate me."

"Oh, don't start in on the woman thing, I get it enough of it back at Merlotte's," he pleaded. "All I'm sayin' is that you don't know what she's like."

She lifted an eyebrow. "And you do?"

Rather than reply, he just nodded and glanced at the floor before going back to stand back by the window. "Yeah, I do, and no, I don't want to talk about it."

"Wait, Sam, if you know something about her, I need to know. Like why she almost sacrificed you."

"I don't know, I've just known her for a while, that's it. Okay? I don't know anything except that you should stay away," he replied heatedly. He knew that hunters were like bloodhounds and never gave up that easily.

"Well, you already know my decision on that." Feeling irritated herself, Marylin took a couple drinks from her beer and stared ahead. This was going to be a very long night.

* * *

_A while later…_

Blinking, Lillian slowly opened her eyes. The hazy form of Sookie slowly solidified over her and she instantly winced and brought a hand to the back of her head. She found her hair slightly matted with dried blood.

"I bet this is a lovely sight." Carefully, she started to sit up. "How long have I been out?"

Sookie helped her, concern marring her face.

"Almost three hours. God, those people are horrible. Are you okay? I tried to call Bill—I don't know where he is—but I got no service… He should've felt my panic before, but that didn't work either."

Slowly, the hunter pushed herself up onto her shaky bare feet. "We haven't found Godric yet anyway." The woman gently rubbed her forehead again before going to the door of their cage. "We need to find him, Sookie." She grimaced as she stuck her hands through the bars to lightly touch the shabby lock on their door. "Are they serious? This is practically an insult… Godric?" she called out.

But they were already stuck in a cage. It wouldn't matter if they called out now. Reaching to her hair, Lilly pulled out the two bobby pins she had used to keep strands out of her face. Sticking both hands out of the cage, she sagged against it. Her head was killing her, but she wrestled through and methodically started to pick the lock.

Sookie approached Lillian and was a little hesitant, clutching her elbows from a chill she felt. "You're trying to get us out? Is that really goin' to work?"

"Not trying," Lillian replied distractedly. There was a click and the door opened wide. "Doing. After you," she told her with a weary grin.

"Oh my. I want to learn how to do that." Sookie cautiously walked out of the cage and looked down the hall to see if there were any goons. But the coast appeared clear. There was most of the basement they hadn't seen.

"We need to do one thing, before we find Godric."

The hunter started going to the closed doors and checking for the locked ones. She picked every lock even with shaking hands. Another half an hour came and went before she found what she wanted. In a locked footlocker in one of the closets were a 9mm and an extra clip.

"Okay, now let's find Godric," she said with a smile. They might have been silver bullets, but that didn't mean they wouldn't take a human down if they had to.


	6. TNT

_Thank you for the favorites! Please review after you read. There's even more excitement coming_!

. . .

'Cause I'm  
T.N.T.  
I'm Dynamite  
T.N.T.  
And I'll win the fight  
T.N.T.  
I'm a power-load  
T.N.T.  
Watch me _Explode!_

~AC/DC

. . .

"Godric?" Sookie's voice out through the hallway. Their tension was mounting. It was already four in the morning and if they didn't find him soon… it would be too late for him.

"I wonder if there's another wing of the basement some-" but Lillian stopped speaking.

They just turned a corner and there, in a simple cage, very much like their own, sat Godric. He wasn't chained or in pain as they would have thought but sitting on a very comfy-looking waiting room chair with a soft, yellow lamp beside him.

The two-thousand-year-old vampire looked no older than a teenager. But his expression showed a tranquil wisdom that only came with two millennia's worth of experiences. As the two girls hesitantly approached, they wondered if he even noticed them at all. He was sitting so very still, unblinking gaze focused on something distant and invisible. His flawless white face showed absolutely no emotion.

"G-Godric?" Sookie tried again. "Eric and Isabel sent us… We've come to rescue you."

"You should not have come," was his soft, accented reply. Lillian was startled to find that there was no growl or rasp to his voice like so many of the other vampires she had spoken to. He slowly turned his head to look up at them.

"Godric, please come with us. We don't have much time," the hunter tried to explain. Her palm was sweating, making her grip on the 9mm slick. The safety was on.

"I know," he replied calmly. "Which is why you should go. Now—while you have the chance."

"But don't you know what they've planned for you?" Sookie frowned. "Godric, they're planning to burn you in the sunlight. You have to go with us, please. The others, they need you back-"

The sound of heavy boots raining down the hallway drew their attention. Lillian shot a look at Godric and Sookie. "Sookie, stay with him. Convince him to leave."

The hunter got no more than two feet when Godric suddenly appeared in front of her. "There can be no bloodshed," he told her gently.

"But… Godric, no. I can't let them take you." It wasn't right. There was nothing about it that was right, even if he was a vampire. "I won't kill them," she finally agreed, then stepped around him. And he let her go. He watched her before looking back at Sookie.

"Your friend does not understand, as I am afraid, you do not either."

"But what you doing? D-Do you _want_ them to…burn you?" Sookie asked him. Godric smiled sadly at her naivety but did not answer.

Up ahead, four armed men in combat wear marched through the hall to escort the vampire. Little did they know that Lilly was on her way. And all she had was a single pistol and no shoes.

Hearing them coming, she ducked behind a half wall. It was now or never, right? The girl leaned out carefully and stuck her barrel between two cardboard boxes. The sound of the shot echoed through the hall and one of the men went down holding his leg. The rest jumped in startle. During all the confusion, Lillian quickly ducked back behind the wall.

"Come out! We know you're there! Toss your weapon out and come out with your hands up!" one of the men yelled, trying his best to impersonate a cop.

Lilly did as he asked, and his mouth fell open in shock.

"A girl? Come 'ere, sugar, and keep your hands where I can see 'em." He grinned and started walking towards her. Trying to appear scared, Lillian took a couple stuttering steps towards him.

Another man clicked his tongue, giving a wolf whistle, his tommy gun raised. "She's one of the fangbangers. How the hell did she get out?"

The first man grinned wolfishly. "Dunno, but we got a couple extra minutes…"

She waited until the three men were surrounding her. When the last one came into position behind her, the façade dropped. Lillian drove the palm of her hand straight into the nose of the man in front of her. When the man behind her grabbed her around the middle, she used him as leverage to lift her feet from the floor and slam her foot into the second man's groin. With the man behind her, she then rammed her head back into his face. The only problem was, she forgot about the wound on the back of her head from earlier. It instantly opened and threw her off balance.

The goon behind her held his nose, swearing. "What the fuck!"

The one with the newly-acquired falsetto voice was still on the ground, holding his family jewels. The guard that she had tried to give a nose job to was ready for more action, even with the two new blossoming black eyes. Growling, he grabbed Lillian by the shoulders and spun her around. Face-planted her right into the wall. He pressed himself against her from behind and growled in her ear.

"Think yer clever? Huh, you little fangbanger? We're not good enough for you?"

A thick, sweaty hand slipped under her dress and started crawling up her thigh. Right up to her underwear. "Maybe you should give us a try? We're better than those fangers."

Lilly yelped when he got to her underwear. The _smarmy, disgusting son of a bi—! _But the perverted guard got no further as he was then quite literally grabbed by the collar and thrown off her. The impact knocked out his senses in an instant. He slumped against the far wall, skull cracked. The blur of Lillian's rescuer was unmistakable. The others were up next.

Easily snapping their necks, Eric made sure no one remained alive and had to resist the urge their blood stirred within him. The wound behind Lilly's head also caught his attention.

Leaning against the wall, she turned, her eyes getting larger when she saw him. How had he known? She opened her mouth to ask him. Something else came out instead.

"I'd promised I wouldn't… kill them."

"Too late," Eric said. Then he heard his master's call and suddenly looked down the hall. Relief visibly washed over him.

Godric was…_alive_?

In flash, Eric was there before him. He knelt at his feet and bowed in reverence. Sookie had to back away from the two, she was so startled by his entrance. Neither vampire reacted. Eric slowly looked up at his maker and on his face, to her shock, shown with what she recognized as…_affection_.

"Godric," he breathed.

"I am here, my son," said Godric with a smile.

Lillian teetered to them and leaned against the wall beside Sookie, who gasped and went to help her. The blood trickled down her neck

"You should not have sent humans after me," Godric gently remonstrated.

"I had no other choice. These savages here, they seek to destroy you. I could not let that happen," his progeny implored. "Please, Godric, we have to hurry. The sun is only an hour away."

"And what does that matter?" Godric asked him with that ever-present, self-deprecating smile. "Take the humans and get them to safety."

But Eric remained stubborn and pleaded once more. "I am not leaving your side until the others get here."

"I can take care of myself, Eric. Go quickly and spill no blood." Godric looked up towards the hallway, then at the humans. Then returned his gaze to his underling. "Go."

With no choice, Eric stood and only nodded in compliance. Gesturing to the girls, he started at a swift pace down the hall. Sookie quickly put Lilly's arm around her shoulder to stabilize her and the two followed after the vampire. They glanced back one last time at Godric, who serenely watched them go.

When they got to the stairs, Lillian slipped out of Sookie's grasp and gestured for Sookie to go between her and Eric.

"I'm fine," Lilly insisted. The room had stopped spinning, which mean she could again focus.

Up above they heard a siren, announcing a lockdown. Eric stopped at the top of the steps and looked around the corner at the mass that was gathering just beyond. Then he turned back to the girls, smelling the irony scent that pervaded the air.

"You're losing blood," he said gravely to Lillian.

"It's really bad, Lily," agreed Sookie with worry.

"Head wounds bleed the most," Lilly replied. She didn't bother to grin for once as she leaned against the wall. "We'll take care of it later. Let's just figure out how to get you and then Godric out." Her eyes flitted past Sookie and met Eric's for a brief moment. "Is it clear?"

He leaned out slightly again, gaze darting from one side of the hall to where the people were, then to the other that was empty. "Yes. Down the hall to the left is an exit. Take Sookie and go there. Don't worry about me or Godric. I can handle the people."

"But there are women and children there," Sookie pointed out.

"They won't put up a fight. When they leave, I'll take care of the guards."

"And who will watch your back?" Lillian asked as she started up the stairs so that she could see as well. It even sounded a little ridiculous to her ears, asking a vampire who was going to watch his back, especially one as powerful as Eric. But Godric had imposed a no blood rule.

"Sookie, head for the door," Lilly said.

Sookie climbed the stairs and stepped into the hall, only to immediately stop and duck back before she was spotted. Their chance was lost in an instant.

"Oh no, there're guards there now!"

"Dammit," swore Eric. There were guards in front of front doors as well, but they looked unthreatening. "Both of you stay here."

The girls waited as instructed and watched as Eric walked out towards the guards.

"I think he might be an idiot," Lillian whispered to Sookie in wonder, even though she had done something very similar just earlier. The hit to the head must have injured the hunter's verbal filter.

The guards standing beside the door looked over at Eric at his sudden appearance.

"Howdy, boys, looks like, uh, you're bein' relieved here." Eric grinned, a startling sight, and proved himself to be a natural actor. "Steve sent me to tell you to meet him out back. I'll jus' take from here."

The nearest boy shivered despite his smile. "All on your own?"

"Yup. I'm a soldier of Ligh', lieutenant actually, so I'm gonna take over."

"Oh, wow," one of the men replied with a smile. But it faltered when he looked Eric over. "But…where's your stake?"

"My stake?" Eric patted his jacket with a dimwitted expression. "Aw, shit, must've forgotten it in my other coat. Mind if I jus' borrow yours? You ain't gonna need it anyway."

"But there's a v-vamper on the loose," said another man. "We can't be unarmed."

"A vamper?" said Eric thoughtfully. A smirk rose on his lips. "Is that what they call them now?"

"And the devils," one supplied helpfully. Then his face fell as he realized what Eric had just said. "But… If you were a lieutenant, you'd know that. You're him! The vamper with your fangbangers!"

Instantly, the group was on alert. One grabbed a silver chain and swung it around to try and hit him with it. Eric easily ducked and knocked him off his feet. Another leapt at the vampire with a stake. He caught his arm and they heard a loud snap of bone. The stake fell from the human's fingers with a clang. The other two men, more scared than anything else, opened the exit doors and ran out, only to be greeted by an armed crowd coming towards them.

"There's an exit in the chapel," said Lillian, appearing beside Eric.

He nodded and they swiftly set off.

* * *

_Confrontation with the Fellowship in the chapel. Eric, Lillian, and Sookie are surrounded. Then Godric's vampires appear just in time, and Godric himself manages to prevent any bloodshed._

_

* * *

_

"_Here's some ketchup…"_

Sam went to the tall cabinet beside the door and pulled out the necessary condiments for his and Marylin's food. When Arlene had asked him why he was hiding back in his office, he'd said he was getting his taxes in order because they were going to be audited and he didn't want to be disturbed. Knowing the type of mood he got into when that happened, the waitress backed off at once and went about her business, practically forgetting that her boss was there at all.

With everything situated, the man sat down to eat his own lunch: a Monty Cristo, also known as Fried Goodness.

Marylin, on the other hand, barely took a bite of her burger. She wasn't nearly as hungry and didn't understand how food could give relief when they were up to their knees in shit. But she didn't want to leave his office either. They've been in it all morning and noon.

"If the devils' traps aren't working, then I don't know what's going on here." She had her journal open and was scanning through the pages, eliminating all of the possibilities. Her journal was a collection of research from two generations of hunters and nothing fit or was remotely similar to what they were currently dealing with.

"There's nothing on maenads, nor anything that's both demonic and god-like. I don't even know how those two go together." Frustrated, the woman checked her phone for the millionth time. Bobby had gone on a hunt at the worst possible time.

"Well, sounds to me like they both might be similar," Sam said with a shrug as he took another bite. Shifters burned a lot of energy and calories without much effort. That meant that unless Marylin wanted to heave an unconscious Sam all the way back to the house, he had to eat.

"You've been lookin' through that thing all day. Why don't you take a break and eat something? What is it, anyway?"

"It's a journal that belonged to my grandfather, then my dad used it. They recorded everything they hunted in it, how they hunted. Computers might be more efficient now, but this is handier. It can go everywhere with us."

Some pages in the book were dog-eared, stained and worn, but the records and memories made them priceless and cherished. The leather binding was aged and still managed to fit more pages. Marylin and Lilly had begun to add their own findings to the collection.

A photo fell from a page and Marylin picked it up, finding her father and another taller man looking up at her. They stood in front of a magnificent '67 Chevy Impala with shotguns in their hands and determination in their gazes, before a dusty country road that seemed to lead as far as the eye could see. The date said 1975.

"That's him, my dad," Marylin pointed, showing Sam the photograph, "and that's my uncle. He's actually got your name, but everyone called him Sammy."

Sam looked the two men over. "They look…happy," he said carefully. "So…you don't get to see them very much?" The man put his sandwich down on the plate and wiped his hands on his jeans.

Brow furrowing, Marylin put the photo back to where it was and then closed the journal altogether and put it away. "Not anymore," was her short reply, after which she finally bit into her burger. It helped to swallow the feelings she usually kept hidden, her clouded eyes avoiding Sam as she ate.

Knowing that he had overstepped a line, Sam sat back in his chair and looked towards the window. He sighed. "We should probably get back to the house in a little while. It's more easily defensible."

Marylin nodded and took a few more bites.

But then a shout from the restaurant made them look at the door. Outside, a hung-over Andy Bellefleur had staggered in, demanding for his cousin whom he couldn't find. The cop looked stir-crazy, smelled bad, clothes all ripped and dirty. He shot a menacing glare at everyone there and pointed accusingly.

"You devil worshipers! Where the hell is he?"

"Andy, what's gotten into you?"

"Shut up, Arlene, I ain' talkin' to you. Wait! You were with 'em last night, were'cha? Tell me where he is!"

The redhead suddenly looked scared. "I-I haven't talked to him all day, Andy…"

"Terry!" the cop hollered. "Get on out of here or I'll kick you so hard, you'll be shittin' boots!"

Sam looked back at Marylin and lifted a hand to tell her to stay where she was. Quietly, he went to the door and opened it. From where he stood, he could just make out the side of drunk Andy Bellefleur.

When Terry didn't come out of the kitchen, Andy went in. That's when he saw Lafayette. "You! Where'd you come from? We thought you was dead!"

"Andy." Terry came around the corner to see his cousin there and sighed. "Andy, what are you doin'? Why don't you come out?"

"You little…" Andy rounded on him with a finger raised. "Didja think you could get away with it? Wait till I tell your sister, wait till she hears about what you were doin' last night—smokin' weed…runnin' round without pants, showin' your pasty white ass to everyone!"

"Andy, what fuck?" Terry swore.

"Andy, what the hell's got into your head?" snapped Tara.

Spinning around to her, Andy yelled, "Fuck you, zombie woman! Know what, fuck all y'all! I know what I saw—all of you! Donchu deny it. Laugh at the crazy drunk guy, but I know what I saw! Devil orgy from hell."

Marylin crept around Sam, eyes wide, stared at the scene in sheer shock. No one appeared to remember the night before. Everyone was looking at Andy like he'd gone insane. But the man wouldn't stop.

"I know what I saw! 'M not crazy and I'll stop you! You're not getting' my town, ya hear me? You're not gettin' it!" With a final yell, the man turned and stormed out of the restaurant leaving a stunned crowd in his wake. Though everyone knew Andy Bellefleur to be a drunk, they'd never quite seen him go to that level.

"Boy, did you smell him?" Arlene laughed to break the silence and went back to her waitressing. "Pee-yoo! Someone needs to take a shower."

"Crazy ass," muttered Tara. Then she laughed herself before returning to the bar. A ripple effect followed over the rest of the crowd and they just waved the whole thing off. Marylin and Sam exchanged looks of distress.

"Come on," the latter said. He gently putting a hand on Marylin's shoulder to try and quietly lead her back out. It wasn't going to happen though.

"Sam!" Arlene gasped in surprise. A smirk spread across her face as she saw Marylin. "What were yew two doin' back there? I thought you said an auditor was gonna be comin' through here and that's why you didn't want to be bothered. Well, aren't you just the white lie tellin' little devil."

"Arlene," Sam sighed with exasperation and rolled his eyes to the heavens.

* * *

It was hard to believe that they had just gotten through a political crisis at the Dallas nest, judging by how everyone was acting. Vampires and their human companions mingled amiably, sharing drinks and a calm ambiance. Of course, that all could have been due to the fact that most of the vampires present had been through their fair shares of close encounters with humans and were well used to the heightened emotions it usually caused.

Seated in a chair in the corner of the room, Godric surveyed his underlings. He nodded in reply to questions asked and answered with as few words as possible, always courteous. The group from the night before came and went about the room, sometimes exiting for some fresh air but never straying far.

Bill stood with Sookie beside the white contemporary-looking couch. He looked slightly harried but managed to hold his own against the determined blonde. Lillian stood off to the side, chatting with a nice vampire and a human companion and drinking from a fluted glass.

All in all, it was calm. At least until someone decided to approach her from behind and give her a slight start. The voice sent shivers down her spine, made her spin round and face it.

"_Does your head still hurt_?"

Eric's inquiry was accompanied by a smirk that was too suggestive for her liking. Lillian's head wound was still raw and seemed to lure him, but he merely teased and made no further move than that.

"Perhaps you should see a doctor."

"And would this doctor insist on using needles?" she replied with a lilt of her own teasing. She took a half a step back, for he was a tall man.

"Here I thought that you weren't afraid of anything," the vampire commented.

Lillian arched a brow at that and looked around the room.

"I'd be foolish to say I wasn't afraid of anything, but I know when to be on my guard and something tells me walking into a nest with a head wound would be one of those moments." A smile touched the corner of her mouth.

Eric glanced at the nest as well, hands clasped behind his back.

"Well, you're lucky they've already fed. So…as long as you continue to maintain your unassuming act, no harm should come to you. But I have to say that I'm surprise you've lasted this far. You're not like the others I've met."

"I'll take that as a compliment, but let's hope it stays that way." She didn't have the energy to try and fight off an entire nest. Her earlier threat of taking them down with her would have been complete fluff in that moment. Lillian didn't have to ask what he meant by 'others'. She had met her fair share. In fact, her partner was probably considered one of those 'others'.

"And you? Aren't you supposed to be threatening my life as Sheriff?" Now her smirk was obvious, though she still didn't look at Eric. "Or should I just assume it?"

"Here out of my area I have no power, but yes, I've still got my eye on you and don't you forget it."

"Message received," Lilly replied with an accompanying chuckle. It was easier to taunt him back when she wasn't looking him directly in the face.

Impressed by her nerve, Eric smiled slightly and watched the crowd along with her, idly observing Bill and Sookie. Also her brother, Jason, who was making a fool out of himself as usual with two hot, model-like girls. The vampire eyed the line that was forming in front of Godric and wondered if he already knew about Lillian. If he did, had he deemed her safe? It had been so long since Eric last saw his maker he wasn't sure if Godric was the same. He had been so distant from everyone that even Eric didn't know how to reach him.

"What's going on?" Lilly started suddenly, and interrupted the vampire's thinking.

Isabel was half-dragging a man through the center of the nest, straight to Godric. Immediately, those that had been in line to formally welcome him back scattered away, and the woman dropped the man at her Sheriff's feet.

"Here. He is the one that betrayed us. _He_ is the traitor."

Tears of blood were smudged under her eyes. Isabel bitterly glared down at her companion, wrought with betrayal. The man fearfully looked up at Godric and knew he was done for. Godric watched him cringe. When his eyes met Hugo's, the human immediately lowered his to the floor.

"Did you love him?" he asked, lifting his gaze back to his underling.

Sniffling, Isabel, looked down at Hugo and nodded. "I thought I did."

"Do you still?"

She had a harder time answering that and looked up towards the ceiling briefly, as though willing her blood red tears back into her eyes. Her lips pressed together and she fought not to break down before her Sheriff.

"You do." Godric looked away from her and back to Hugo. "You will leave." Isabel made sound in the back of her throat that sounded like agonized joy. "And you will not return. Eric," the Sheriff called for his child. "Take him and make sure he leaves unharmed. For I feel that this place is no longer safe for him."

Leaving Lilly, Eric went to his maker and waited for Hugo to stand. "Yes, Godric."

Isabel bowed and clasped her hands in front of her, backing away. "Thank you. Thank you, Sheriff."

The traitor gave one last glance to his lover, Isabel, before Eric grabbed his arm and led him out of the house. The rest of the nest remained silent, shocked by Godric's merciful verdict.

It took a several moments, but soon everyone was back to talking. When Eric didn't return, Lillian replaced her wine flute on the table and wandered over to Sookie's side. Bill had disappeared with Jason to talk. It seemed that Godric's display had moved Sookie's brother to confront Bill on a certain issue that was standing between them.

"It's seeing things like that that make me happy I'm willing to question things," Lillian told Sookie with a smile. "I mean look at me. I'm getting along with everyone."

"And I'm happy it's goin' so well. Most of them aren't so bad." Sookie looked at the vampires around them, coexisting peacefully among humans. "They're like me and you…just a bit different. I wish people tried to get to know them, understand them more and not hate them right away."

Lillian's reply was interrupted by a purring, sultry voice.

"What a charming sight." A pale woman in a formfitting, bright red gown stepped around and before them. "You must be Sookie Stackhouse. I've heard _all_ about you."

It was the way the woman looked at her friend that Lilly knew two things off the bat: this woman was a vampire and there was something bad with the way she took in Sookie.

The waitress' smile faltered slightly but she extended a hand in greeting. "Yeah, I'm Sookie, and you are?"

Yet the woman didn't shake her hand and instead raised her chin. She studied Sookie's features with a sharp and calculating gaze. Her eyes were so cat-like that they made her pale face even more startling, lips painted red as blood.

"Lorena," the vampire gave her name distractedly. "So _this_ is what the fuss is all about? Aren't you a morsel…"

"Excuse me?"

"As complimentary as that may seem to you," started Lillian carefully. "I'd appreciate it if treated my friend with respect and courtesy."

Lorena let out a chuckle and turned to her with an arched brow, as if finally noticing the hunter. "Is that so? Who are you supposed to be? Her bodyguard?"

"Something like that," Lillian replied with a smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Lorena, but my friend and I are needed elsewhere." Reaching out, she gently put her hand on Sookie's elbow and moved her in a different direction. It strategically put Lillian between the two women, blocking Lorena's way.

But the vampire wasn't going to let them go so easily and immediately rounded on them, barricading their own way.

"I don't think so," she eyed Sookie's now fearful face. "I believe I have the right to get to know Bill's _plaything_."

"Bill? You know _Bill_?" Sookie asked in alarm.

"Yes. Funny he never mentioned me. I practically made him what he is today. I deserve some credit, don't I?" Lorena sniffed, as if hurt.

"You're his maker," Lilly answered. Lorena smiled, tilting her head back as she chuckled.

"Very good, human," she purred.

Leaning in just an inch, Lillian whispered gravely: "You should know, Lorena, that you are walking on very dangerous ground right now. Now I ask you again to leave Sookie be. I don't want to cause an incident."

"Incident?" replied the vampire, once again laughing. She looked past Lilly's head to Sookie, who tried to scowl.

"Don't underestimate her. You should watch yourself," she warned.

"Watch myself?" Lorena repeated, even more surprised, her cackling louder. "I can't believe I'm hearing this." She looked to the watching crowd around them. "What are you going to do, human, try to hit me? Go ahead, but then you'll find yourself short of an arm."

"And yourself short a heart," Lillian replied with smile and a cold glint in her eye.

Lorena paused at that, watching her speculatively.

"_Sookie_."

Bill came up behind her, wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulder. "Lorena," he growled. "What are you doing here?"

"Why, introducing myself to your lovely pets," Lorena said with a smile. "After all, dear, I must get to know them, for when we are together, they will know who their betters are."

"You will stop this at once," Bill ordered her. "I have already told you that we will never be together again."

Lorena seemed to ignore him and looked back at Sookie, smiling devilishly. "Had I mentioned we recently spent the night together? And it was _marvelous_, wasn't it, William?"

"Bill?" Sookie looked at her boyfriend questioningly.

Bill gritted his teeth and glared at his maker.

"…At least until the end where he hit me upside the head with a 52" plasma flatscreen. I know they say they're light, but let me tell you, wielded the right way, they make quite the weapon."

"Is that why you didn't come in time?" Sookie asked Bill.

"Awfully sorry," Lorena said, but she was far from apologetic, "but you know how old lovers can get. Bill just likes it rough, don't you, darling? Were you the same way with her?"

"Lorena, that is enough!" Bill snapped.

"Look," began Sookie suddenly, swallowing to gain courage, "if you're trying to get him back, clearly it's not workin'. So why don't you just stop and go back to whatever dirty hole you came from. No one wants a fight here."

"I will not leave what is _mine_!"

Lorena snarled and her fangs extended. Hitting Bill out of the way, she grabbed onto Sookie and slammed her straight into the table nearby. As soon as all the glass flew, though, Lorena stopped. She didn't even allow herself to breath.

Lillian stood behind her, one hand on the vampire's forehead and the other holding a silver dagger to her throat. If she so much as breathed, the blade would both cut and burn her.

Godric appeared beside them then, as if conjured out of thin air. There was silence in the air except for one whispered word: _Hunter_.

"Retract your fangs," Godric told Lorena. Slowly, the vampire did as she was commanded. Next, he looked to Lillian and kindly whispered, "Please."

Lillian moved her eyes away from the top of Lorena's head and to Godric. He smiled at her and nodded his head ever-so-slightly. After what felt like a heart-stopping moment, the hunter let go, took the blade away from Lorena's throat.

"You have insulted guests in my home," Godric told her. He went on to tell all gathered that if behavior like this persisted, then he feared for both races. "You," he said to Bill. "You know this vampire. See her out of this nest." The two-thousand-year-old vampire forced Lorena to look up at her. "I want you out of my territory by dawn, and do not return." Nodding and with blood tears in her eyes, Lorena stood and walked to the door, Bill following her.

When they were gone, Stan stepped forward and pointed accusingly at Lillian, glare dangerously narrowed.

"I knew it. I fuckin' knew it. A hunter in our midst! Godric, you should drain her right where she stands! And Eric, you son of a bitch, you knew all along!"

Eric met Lillian's brown eyes with cold gray ones and said, "She knew very well what the consequences would be."

Godric's reply shocked all. His voice sounded above, drowned out all the others.

"This hunter has earned our trust. This human, whom you have just said should die, has on multiple occasions, in my witnessing, shown how it is possible for vampire and human to coexist peacefully." He looked around the room, gesturing to the vampires. "Many of you earlier spoke with this human and I watched you find pleasure in her company. She has defended me, you, and her human companion. She has shown where her loyalty lies and it is not against us. She has sanctuary amongst us. Do you seek to challenge my verdict, Stan?"

Lillian watched them all from where she stood in the middle of the room, red in the cheeks. Carefully, she tucked her blade down into her pocket so that it would no longer be seen.

Stan seethed like bull, staring at his sheriff with horrified astonishment. "S-sir, you know what they're like! She can turn on us!"

Sookie looked between him and Godric. "But she hasn't! She's my _friend_ and I trust her and so should _you_." The girl smiled at Lillian and knew she had a true heart.

A part of Lilly was ashamed, though. She'd reacted with an instinct ingrained in her since childhood. For some reason, her eyes flicked up to Eric, and when she saw how cold they still were, it almost seemed like their previous amusements had evaporated. She was what she was. Quickly, she looked back at the floor.

"I know that one of our own turned on a human in our protection," Godric replied, eyeing Stan. "I believe that is also the argument many of the humans use on us. Will you stoop, underling, to furthering the rift between our two species?"

As if unable to come up with an argument, Stan grunted and looked away, sufficiently scolded for his behavior. "No, Sheriff. I…I apologize." Eric allowed himself to smirk now, but it was momentary.

Godric nodded and looked around at those gathered to reinforce his words.

As soon as he began walking back to his chair, Lillian closed the distance between her and Sookie. "I'm going to go. Enjoy the party." Forcing a brief smile on her face, she quickly turned away from them to leave.

Sookie opened her mouth to stop her, but Lilly was already weaving her way through the crowd. And Eric's face faltered slightly as he watched her. He noticed her mood.

Just then someone else entered the room.

Jason's head reared up as he noticed the man. "Luke?"

Luke was dressed in a bulk coat, sharply snapped at his friend. "Shut up, Stackhouse. Just get out of here, man."

Lillian had only managed to go a few meters from Sookie when Luke raised his voice.

"Excuse me everyone, if I can have your attention." It was obvious that Luke was nervous being in a room full of vampires. He shook bad. But somehow, he managed to find it within him to continue. "I have a message from the Honorable Reverend Steve Newlin."

Luke reached up to the zipper on his coat and pulled it down, revealing a torso wrapped in silver chains, silver bullets, and C-4. And what made matters worse was that when he raised his hand, a detonator was in it. Without another word, his thumb pressed down on the button…

And their world turned white.


	7. I will Rise Up

In the darkest hour, in the dead night,  
As the storm clouds gather, and the lightning strikes,  
And the thunder rolls, and the cold rain blows,  
The future it holds, what God only knows.

And I will rise up, and I will rise up,  
Though I be a dead man, I said yes and amen.  
And I will stand tall, and I will stand tall,  
Until I meet my end, until I meet my end.

~Lyle Lovett

. . .

The bomb blew the entire place. The ceiling collapsed, the walls shattered, and those that were standing nearest to Luke simply disintegrated upon detonation. Those that found they still had a consciousness were lucky to be alive from such a blast. Many perished—human and vampire alike. The _honorable _Reverend's hateful message was successfully received.

Bill search through the chaos, looking for Sookie, wondering if she even survived the tragic explosion. But then her white coat was spotted, a certain blond vampire collapsed on top of her.

"_Sookie_!"

"Oh, God. Bill!"

Bill rushed to her side.

Eric opened his eyes, paralyzed from the wounds on his chest. "I-I managed to cover her. She's only stunned. Go after the humans."

Letting go of Sookie's twitching hand, Bill growled and looked back to the terrorists that ran off. Too bad they wouldn't get far. They were only able to pass the driveway when the vampire appeared behind them, viciously throwing them to the ground.

Back inside, Sookie managed to finally shove Eric off her and looked about the room in panic.

"Lilly—Jason!" Neither was to be found. Until, across the rumble, she saw her dazed brother sit and give her a thumbs up. But where was Lilly? Not gone. She couldn't have been gone.

Sookie stood to search for her, shouting her name. Lilly didn't respond. Of the humans and vampires that had shakily climbed to their feet, none of them appeared to be the missing hunter.

Hearing his sister, Jason slowly climbed to his feet, one hand rubbing the back of his head. He had hit it when the blast knocked him off his feet, but when he his hand didn't come away bloody, he knew he was fine.

"She's here, Sook, we'll find her," he tried to assure his sister.

Everything had been blown to pieces. He had seen Lilly standing beside the couch before the bomb had gone off, and headed in the direction of the once stylish piece of furniture. A slim hand outstretched beneath it. Carefully, he lifted the smoldering couch away and saw Lillian's prone form beneath it.

"Sookie, I found her!" Jason knelt beside Lillian and realized that she looked more bruised than anything else. Until, he saw her thigh. "She musta caught a piece of the couch..." He and Sookie both eyed the giant shard of wood that had embedded itself into the hunter's thigh.

"Uh-oh, it looks like it's in there pretty deep… Good thing she's not a vampire."

Sookie hit him on the arm and fell beside her friend, searching her face for consciousness. "Lilly, can you hear me? Lilly? Oh God, Jason, we needa get this thing out. She's bleedin' bad."

"It's not…" Lillian's mouth felt dry and tasted like ash and dust.

"You're awake?" Jason asked in surprise. She nodded. "Yer hurt real bad, Lilly, so don't move, okay? We're gonna help you," he said.

She gave a slow smile, her eyes still closed. Her head pounded. She whispered gruffly: "Don't say that too loud. My number one fan might get excited."

"Lilly, we're gonna take the piece of wood out now, okay? Otherwise you'll get an infection." Sookie looked at Jason, decided to do it herself. She swallowed and nodded and tentatively gripped the stake. "Ready? One…t-two…three!"

On three, Sookie pulled the shard straight out and Lilly's cry rent the air.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry! L-Lilly… Oh, n-no."

Blood ran down the hunter's leg, soaked her jeans, pulsating painfully through the entire half of her body. Jason ripped off a strip of fabric from his shirt and quickly started to tie it up.

Lilly's hands were clenched so tightly that the skin was bright white over her knuckles. After her initial cry, she tried to swallow any other and lifted an arm to cover her eyes. She willed herself not to cry through the excruciating pain. A couple of tears had escaped down her cheeks.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," she insisted. She didn't move her arm from her eyes.

"Jason—" Sookie looked at her brother worriedly, only to hear a sudden voice above.

"_My, are we alright here_?"

It was laced with an automatic scorn that couldn't be helped. Eric dusted some bullets off his chest and peered down at the hunter, tutted in pity.

Sookie glared at him and snapped, "Don't be an asshole, Eric. She's in pain."

"I can see that."

"So go away."

"What if I was going to offer my assistance?" the vampire inquired. He seemed to be quite willing, though neither of the Stackhouses liked his intonation. "She needs to be taken out of here."

Eric to help her out of there? Lillian would be mortified. Here was the vampire who already thought she was a pitiful human. If he helped her now, how would she ever hold her head up around him again?

Lilly forced her hands to relax and moved her arm away from her face. But she purposefully stared at the ground to keep them from seeing her tears. She tried to push herself up into a sitting position.

"All of you go to the hotel Carmilla and stay there tonight. This place is not safe," rang Godric's voice out across the moans while he stood in the middle of the room. "Anyone needing assistance shall have it."

Sookie and Jason stepped back to let Eric through. The man knelt beside the hunter, lifting her in his strong, pale arms. Lillian looked at his unreadable expression, so close it was to her own face, and wondered what in the world he was thinking. But he said nothing. He didn't even meet her eyes for an instant. Just then, Bill returned and looked Sookie over to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine, Bill," she swore to him. "It's Lilly who's hurt. She'll need to see a doctor."

"Well… We will be sure that she gets one," Bill said. He looked over at Eric and found the Sheriff's actions just as strange as the rest did. So unexpectedly chivalrous of the Viking. Placing a hand on the small of Sookie's back, Bill led her out of the crumbling house.

Jason watched both pairs of people and glanced around, his eyes truly unclouded in that moment.

"Jason," Bill called as they stepped out the door.

"Right, comin'—!" he quickly replied and jogged after them.

* * *

_Some time later…_

"Will she be okay, doctor?" Sookie asked, fearing for her friend.

The doctor nodded and concentrated on the wound, which he was cleaning up. Lilly tried hard to keep it together, the lesion stung so bad. Sookie was with her and held her hand, told her to squeeze as hard as she needed. Meanwhile, the men waited outside the room, including Eric.

"After I sew it up, she'll need to stay in bed a few days, then she can try walking with a crutch. Some nerves were damaged, blood vessels. The bone was nearly hit. As for your head, keep it elevated at all times, and rise from bed slowly so as not to become dizzy. If you ever faint suddenly, call me immediately." The doctor reached for more gauze and alcohol, then a hypodermic to numb the pain.

"I'm going to give you this so you don't feel anything, then I'll start," he explained to Lillian. "Ready?"

Lillian nodded, ready for the needle. When he finally did slide it beneath her skin, she flinched but didn't yell out, for which she was thankful. She hated needles ever since she was a child.

"This is ridiculous," she commented grouchily. The hunter felt utterly humiliated and she'd be damned before she used a crutch… But then, just like that, the pain in her leg was gone as the local anesthesia set to work. "Wow. We need to get some more of that," she said with a grin.

The woman watched as the doctor set about sewing up her leg. It really was an impressive wound. Who knew couches could be so dangerous? About fifteen minutes later, the doctor was done.

"That should just about do it," he said as he cut the thread. "Now, remember what I said about staying in bed and your head." Lillian nodded.

The doctor snapped off his gloves, packed his things and went for the door. As soon as he stepped out, Bill walked in and went to Sookie's side, looking down at their invalid, who glared up at him like a wet cat.

Sookie touched her boyfriend's hand and remained beside her friend. "Bill, I guess we're going to have to stay here for a few more days while Lilly gets better. Is that okay?"

"The doctor was overreacting, Sookie. We can leave as soon as we need to, Bill. I'm fine." In fact, Lilly felt great and, to prove it, swung her legs over the side of the couch.

"Perhaps you are overestimating your abilities," Bill commented. He looked unsure of the situation. Lillian was trying to stand.

"Lilly, what are you doing? You just got it stitched, you need to lie down!" Sookie implored her friend. "It can't heal that fast."

"Hm, no it can't," agreed Eric from the doorway.

He was leaning against it but not bothering to come in. He preferred this distance and watched Lillian with a habitual smile.

"I think she has a hard time admitting she's only human, unfortunately a great fault in hunters."

Lillian looked over and said sweetly, "And some people have a hard time admitting that the ground they walk on shouldn't be worshipped, unfortunately a great fault in many _vampires_." She shook her head at him with a pitying smile.

Eric purposefully darkened his gaze, welcoming a challenge between them. His blue eyes glittered mischievously. A thousand-year-old child.

"Right…" Bill watched the two. "Perhaps you should get comfortable, Lillian, and order some food? It might help to calm you."

Sookie lit up at the idea, hoping to have a nice girls' night without the men.

"Oh, that's a good idea. I think I might get something too. We never ate dinner. Bill, do you mind if I stayed here with Lilly, kept her company?"

"I," Bill started. Lillian and Eric seemed to be in the middle of a staring contest to see who would back down first. "Uh, yes, that would be alright with me. I will get some menus. Eric?" he asked, heading for the door.

Eric won the battle as Lillian looked away first, but the war was far from over, for a small quirk of a grin surfaced in the corner of her mouth.

"If you have need of me, you know to call." Bill handed the women the room service menus. Eric chuckled huskily and watched them for one last moment. Then he started for the exit. He passed by Jason, who was nearly caught going through the selection of porn available on the television. The boy quickly had covered it just in time by switching to the Disney channel. Hannah Montana was singing her pre-teenage melodramas.

Once both men were gone, Lillian leaned back on the couch and sighed.

"I have to admit, this place is really nice, er comfortable, or—something." The hunter opened the menu and began flipping through the pages to find the perfect dish. She smirked at some of the choices: Grilled swordfish, topped with sautéed roma tomatoes. Fettuccini alfredo with grilled prawns in a delicious, creamy sauce. Braised lamb shanks. _Mmm._

Sookie noticed her sudden good mood.

"You know, you should watch out," she suggested gravely, while she perused through the menu as well. "Eric's can be a real prick. He's always got his nose in the air because he's Sheriff and because he's older than everybody… I think he was a Viking price, too, or something."

"Viking prince? Aren't most men like that, anyway?" Lillian retorted. "What am I supposed to watch out for, Sookie? Nothing will happen." If anything did, Marylin would kill her. "Besides, he's done nothing but put me down, so there's nothing to worry about. _Oooohh_, home-made buttermilk waffles."

"Just don't provoke him," Sookie suggested. "In fact, just ignore him altogether. That's what I try to do."

"I should just ignore him?" Lillian asked incredulously. "He's a over-six-foot-tall, brooding vampire. How do you ignore that?"

Sookie giggled at her exasperation and said, "I guess it's too late anyway… He seems to enjoy tauntin' you at every chance he gets."

"I thought that was common place. He does that to everyone. Listen, you're going to make _me_ giggle if you don't stop giggling, and I have no reason to giggle," she told her friend with a smile.

"You don't?" Sookie asked cryptically, and was unable to stop her laughter.

"No! Something tells me Eric wouldn't like it if his name and the word giggling were in the same sentence. So, no, I have nothing to giggle about. Let's eat." _I have nothing to giggle about_, she told herself, and picked up the phone so that they could order.

Sookie only smiled, going back to her own menu.

And outside, through the wall in the hallway someone stood, having listened. Little did they know it was the said vampire. While he indeed preferred his name not to be used along with 'giggle', a curious look had drifted about his face. But, even he couldn't explain the sudden intrigue. So, he then turned around and returned to his room.

* * *

The ringing broke the silence of the room. Sam lifted his head from where he'd been closing up a cardboard box labeled 'Den' with clear masking tape. Glancing at Marylin, the man got up and went to his cell phone, which was on one of the glass covered coffee tables. _Merlotte's _was the name that flashed up on the screen, and so, with a funny look on his face, Sam answered the call.

"Hello," he started.

There was no answer.

Quickly, Sam looked back down at the display to see if he was still connected, but for some reason, no one was saying anything. "Who is this?" After another beat, the person on the other end of the line simply hung up.

"That was weird…"

"What happened?" Marylin said, alarmed.

"_Merlotte's_ just called, but-" Sam went over to the window and looked towards his restaurant. "They should be closed right now. No one said anything."

"No one said anything?" The hunter went to look as well, suspicion narrowing her eyes. "I'll go…check it out." She grabbed her jacket, gun, and made sure it was loaded.

Sam headed to the door before her. "You're not going alone. In fact, I think you should stay here."

"No way in hell I'm not." Marylin tucked her gun away and hurriedly went after him. "What if she's there? I'm not going to let her take you again."

The night was silent. In fact, the whole place was silent—the bog didn't croak, the trees didn't sway. The parking lot lamps didn't flicker. While that should've comforted them, it didn't. _Merlotte's_ was dark and seemingly empty, giving them the creeps. Marylin watched Sam's back and they crossed the parking lot together.

Quietly, Sam unlocked the back door to the office and stepped inside, holding the door open with one hand for Marylin. When the door was carefully shut behind them, the man walked forward and peeked around the hallway.

"There's no one here," he deemed. Although, he refrained from turning on the lights.

Marylin had her gun at the ready and searched the dark for movement, knowing full well it could hide things. "Don't rely on that. Get behind me."

The kitchen gleamed almost frightfully, the metal shelves and tables reflecting ghostly streaks of moonlight.

"Marylin, there's no one here," Sam insisted. He wanted to trust his gut.

"Shush," she whispered.

As they turned the corner and walked further into the room, there behind the cooking equipment they saw a strip of light. It was unnatural, luminescent. A blue glow, which was accompanied by a chilly breeze that unexpectedly made the hairs of their necks stand on end.

Sam eyed the walk-in refrigerator over Marylin's shoulder. With his face creased in apprehension, he put a hand on her elbow to try to keep her where she was. She slowed to a halt. The flaps of plastic just inside the door hung limp. And the eerie glow that was cast about the room was enough to form a pit in the bottom of his stomach.

Slowly, he crept forward and opened the door. There sitting on the floor—

"Oh, _God_!" For a moment, he turned away, tried to gain his composure at the grizzly sight.

Marylin rushed to his side, only to receive the same reaction. She covered her mouth. "Is-is that…one of your _waitresses_?"

Daphne was dead all right. Butchered. Her heart was gone, her dress frozen with blood. The look on her face was of sheer shock. They didn't have to guess who the culprit was. Marylin turned, her back against Sam's. She aimed her gun out at the darkness. He leaned back against her slightly, stared deadpan at Daphne.

"No one's there, Marylin," he said. "She was a shifter too..." He spoke his words so softly, they almost weren't intelligible. But with absolutely no sound coming from the kitchen other than the light hum of the generators, Marylin heard them.

"She was?" She would never have guessed.

"Mmhm, found out the other day." He couldn't take his eyes from the waitress. _That_ was what MaryAnn wanted to do to him. Cut out his heart too. "I can't leave her like this."

Hurriedly, Sam left the freezer and went over to a shelf that had black trash bags.

Marylin followed to help him and wondered if it would've just been best to call the police. Then get the hell out of there themselves—and drive straight out of town before anything else happened.

"But where will we put her?"

"The woods." Sam sighed and shook his head. "Then I'll need to call the police. You should probably go. I don't want you getting blamed for any of this."

But no sooner had the man flipped open his phone and started dialing the Sheriff's number than flashing red and blue lights flooded the windows.

"How did they—" It dawned on him at once. He'd been set up.

"Oh, shit." Marylin certainly couldn't leave him now.

There came a knock on the glass, a stream of a flashlight.

"_It's the Sheriff! Is anyone in there? Come out with your hands up_!"

* * *

"I'm telling you—she was here when we got here!" Sam said for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"So we should just overlook the fact that we got an anonymous tip that you were here hiding some kind of body because you said you found her this way?" asked the black woman, speculative.

"Who's your tip? I'm telling you, we weren't here. Someone called my phone from _Merlotte's_ and I came over to see what was up. The place was supposed to be closed."

"And the fact that you're here with a woman who isn't what she says she is—you think that's gonna help your case or hurt it?" Kenya gave Marylin a hard look.

When her face fell, Sheriff Dearborne raised a finger in her face. "Yep, don't think we didn' find out. Called the Wildlife Service myself actually, to check on your case's status, and they said they never even sent agents down here. In fact, they never even reopened the case."

"Well…" Marylin strained a chuckle. She was in deep shit now. "Alright, that's true, but just because they've closed it, that doesn't mean that thing isn't still out there."

"What thing? The thing that killed poor Nan LeGuare? Maybe it wasn't even a thing_, _maybe it was one of _you_!"

"One of us?" said the hunter in disbelief. "You think we could've done that? Do we have claws, Sheriff?" Marylin raised her hands to show him.

"I don't know what you have," he admitted with a shrug, "but you're both suspects, and finding you here with the body gives us enough probable cause to lock you up for at least 48 hours."

"Sheriff, you can't do this!" Sam yelled at him now in exasperation. "We didn't do this."

"Sorry, Sam, but it's the way it's gotta be."

"There's a rumor you had a relationship with the current deceased," said Kenya. "Is that true?" When Sam didn't say anything, the black woman roved her eyes to Marylin. "Did _you_ feel any jealousy?"

Marylin blinked. "Excuse me?"

"We have to consider all possibilities."

The hunter glanced at Sam, suddenly feeling quite awkward. "Look, we're not—at all. You have the wrong idea."

"We're not involved, Kenya. Jesus!" Angry, Sam ran his hands back through his hair. "Bud, this is stupid."

"Stupid or not, Sam, it's the way it is. Now, you both gonna come quietly? We can ask more questions once we get to the station." Bud looked at them seriously, both hands on his belt.

Marylin clenched her jaw and dread lanced through her. If they locked them up, then the cops would search her records. They'd find reports of credit card fraud, grave desecration suspicions, maybe even automobile thief alerts—all things her and Lilly tried hard to hide and sneak around. They've never been caught like this. Never.

But now she had no choice. With a look at Sam, pale with anxiety, Marylin stood to follow him and the sheriffs out.

* * *

_At the station…_

"Bud, come on now!" Sam called to the retreating Sheriff's back.

"Sorry, Sam," the old man said. He didn't look back.

The shifter sighed and grabbed onto the bars of their cell, momentarily letting his head fall. "I'm sorry. I never should have gotten you mixed up in all this."

She didn't say anything at first. Then she too sighed and turned to face him, arms crossed under her chest. "You didn't do anything, I did it myself. I was set on getting MaryAnn."

"_MaryAnn_?" someone called across the jail. "_MaryAnn's comin'? Woopie!_"

"_If she comes, she'll tell Sheriff Dearborne to let us go_!"

Both Sam and Marylin looked out to find another cell full of townsfolk. A few looked drunk, others had no pants, another looked beat up. It was a dead giveaway why and by whom they'd been influenced.

"Hey, Sam!" A disheveled woman spotted them, and half her bosom was hanging over her ripped blouse. "You gonna join the party, too? Oh, is that the ranger there in with ya? I didn' know you two were getting' frisky together."

Sam tried to ignore them.

"She's messed this town up," he muttered under his breath. "_Now_ do you believe me that it would have been better for you to go?" he asked as he looked up at Marylin.

The woman leaned against the wall across from him, shrugged and stared at the floor. "It's too late anyway. They'll keep us for 48 hours and then they'll have to let us go."

"Evidence is all over that place. I own that restaurant." His fingerprints were probably over every inch of the property. At least Marylin would be let go. Then he wouldn't have that on his conscience.

Across the way, people continued to hoot and holler. They sounded more like monkeys than grown adults. Even though Sam knew better, it made him a little sick listening to it. But he and Marylin had no choice.

* * *

_A little later…_

"It's not gonna open," Sam said from where he sat on the lower cot. When she'd gone to the cell door to pick it, he had sighed and laid back. She could mess with it all she wanted to. It wasn't going to help anything except perhaps to pass the time.

Marylin shushed him and concentrated. She attempted to maneuver the tumblers in the lock. Fortunately, her tools hadn't been confiscated. It would take a while, she knew, but she was always able to pick just about anything. Their cellmates appeared to have quieted and the sheriff wasn't checking on them anyway.

"It'll open…you just see… "

"I'm sure it will." Sam closed his eyes.

Sleep would never come to him in a place like this, but at least with the quiet he might be able to rest a little bit. Marylin was an interesting one. She was a hunter, and as such, Sam knew that he couldn't get to close. At the same time, she wasn't trying to kill him, which was always a plus.

At the sound of Dearborne's voice, both suddenly jumped, and Marylin had to quickly leave the lock alone. Swearing, she hid her tools and watched with Sam as the old sheriff arrived with a couple more caught hooligans.

"What in the world is this town comin' too," he tutted, escorted the teenagers to the nearly full cell next door. "Underage drinkin'…drivin' while drinkin'."

"Chillax, Sheriff D., geez," said one of the boys. "We ain't dead or nothin'. We were only havin' fun."

"Yeah, but you coulda killed someone. Imagine what your folks are gonna say."

"Oh, Billy! How are you?" said a woman from across the hall.

"Hi, Mom!" the boy called back, waving.

Bud just looked back and forth between the two in shock, then shook his head.

"Where's MaryAnn?" another woman cried out to the Sheriff as he passed. "She'll come get us out! Where is she, Sheriff?"

"I don' know. You've been asking that all night." Just as the Sheriff began to lock them up again, they all heard a voice from the front. Sam and Marylin's eyes went wide with alarm.

"_Yoo-hoo, Sheriff Dearborne? Are you here, Sheriff Dearborne?_"

"Is that her? MaryAnn!" the jailed cried in unison.

"Well speak of the devil," said the old cop.

"MaryAnn, we're here! The party's back here!"

"Quiet, y'all. Simmer down!" With a glance at the frozen two next door, Bud went to greet the woman waiting for him. Little did he know she came to bail them all out.

Sam sprinted from the cot, along with Marylin, over to the door of the cell to try and see as far out as he could. Thankfully, the viper couldn't be seen.

"Come on, come on," Sam encouraged quietly to Marylin. "You said you could pick this thing."

"I'm going as fast as I c-can. It's more a bit more difficult…than most other locks." With shaking hands, she picked at the lock and watched the doorway. She knew they'd be done for the second MaryAnn walked in and saw them.

Their cellmates heard the fumbling of the lock and looked over with dimwitted confusion.

"Hey, whatcha guys doin' there with the door?" asked a man. "MaryAnn's gonna spring us out. She's gonna come in here any minute."

"Then we'll par-ty!" laughed a drunken lady. "Woo!"

Though Sam didn't say anything else, he mouthed, "Hurry," willing Marylin's fingers to work faster.

Outside, MaryAnn sat down at Dearborne's desk.

"Sheriff, you look positively exhausted. What's wrong?" She was the picture of virtue. Her brown eyes were wide with sympathy and everything in her posture was a model of welcoming.

"Hell if I know," said the Sheriff. He went over to his coffee maker to pour two cups. "Seems like the whole town's gone crazy, but they don't know what they'd done. Kenya's out catching more. We've been up all night, tryin' to sort it out." He held out a mug and also took a seat. "Don't even have room left ne'more."

In the waiting area sat more caught troublemakers, handcuffed to their seats.

"So what are you going to do? Just let them out onto the streets?"

Bud nodded. "We might have to start lettin' 'em go, but they'll are riled up, still might do some damage. I can't hardly keep my eyes open, they're so many 'o them."

"Oh, Sheriff, why don't you just let me go talk to them? After all, it _is_ what I'm good at." To help tempt him, MaryAnn came to stand behind him, resting her hands on his shoulders. "You should just sit back and relax…"

"A-Are you sure?" he asked. As she started to massage him, he didn't bother protesting. "Only if you're sure, Ms. Forrester, wouldn't want them givin' you any trouble."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." Bud's eyes went black. Chuckling, she stepped around him and headed out of his office. She hid the keys she had swiped so he wouldn't see them.

Strolling down the hall, she called out, "Oh, _Saaam_!"

"He's there, he's there!" her minions directed obediently. "He's in that cell down there, with the ranger. Are they gonna join the party, too?"

"Oh, yes," said MaryAnn slyly, and walked further on. "They will be the guests of honor."

But as she reached their cell, she saw the door creak, the lock unlocked. It was empty and the two were nowhere to be found.

Barely making it through the window round the corner, Marylin and Sam were now sprinting from the station, sprinting as fast as their legs could carry them down the street.

Anger coursing through her, like the growing blast from a rocket's exhaust, MaryAnn stared at the open cell. This was the second time Sam had eluded her grasp. The second time that Marylin had saved him. MaryAnn spun around on her heels and went to the other cells. She unlocked them, every single one, threw them open.

The people cheered and celebrated from being free at last.

"Find them. Bring them to me!" she yelled. "Bring me Sam Merlotte and that hunter!"

Blocks away now, Sam ran behind Marylin, covering her back so she wouldn't fall behind.

"We're leaving. I don't care what you say. We're gettin' out of here." Thankfully, with it being a relatively small town, the Bar and Grill wasn't far from the Sheriff's station.

And this time Marylin didn't argue.

* * *

"Chicken Caesar salad?" the waiter asked, as he placed the dish before Lillian, and Sookie's grilled chicken before her.

The girls thanked him. Lilly moved her crutches out of the way so that the server wouldn't trip over them as he left.

"I can't believe how late I slept," she yawned. She'd slept till about 1 o'clock and couldn't remember the last time she'd done that.

"Well, that just means you needed it," said Sookie as she began to cut her chicken. "We all stayed up pretty late."

"I think I could use summore sleep." Jason also yawned, before stealing one of her fries and popping it into his mouth. He narrowly missed his sister's hand before she slapped him. "Where's ma dang burger? I think they forgot about me."

"No they didn't, Jason. They said a couple more minutes." Sookie rolled her eyes to Lilly. "He's like a pig, I swear."

Lillian shrugged. "He's a guy." Of course, the hunter had been known to polish off her fair share of burgers and junk food as well.

The server returned once more with Jason's food and the man tucked in like there was no tomorrow.

Not for the first time that day, Lilly touched the cell phone beside her plate to see if she had missed any calls. It had been four days since she last spoken with Marylin, and the realization of that had her stomach crawling.

"I'm just worried about her, you know? It's been a while…"

A frown tugged the corner of Sookie's mouth. "She's still not answerin'? You've left her messages right?"

"Ma'be she's jus' busy?" offered Jason through a bite too big for his mouth. His sister grimaced at him in disgust. ""Aught up in some'in."

Grimacing herself, Lillian lifted her napkin and offered it to him.

"Yeah, maybe…" But Jason's words weren't as reassuring as she hoped. "She's just never _not_ called me back before."

Jason barely wiped his mouth before dropping it back down onto the table so that he could keep eating. "Sookie never calls me," he added with a shrug.

"I do too!" his sister protested. "It's you who doesn't. You're always out somewhere, most of the time with the first girl you see that day. Gran always worried about him. He wouldn't call for days at a time."

"Yeah. Gran…" Jason looked down at the sudden reminder of her. "Well, I ain't like that anymore, Sook. I don't pick up the first girl I see or do none of that."

Lillian saw the looks on their faces. It was hard to miss the sorrow from the siblings. But rather than point it out, Lilly humbly ate her food. After a moment, though, she couldn't help herself and picked up the phone to make another call. She almost expected Marylin's phone to go straight to voicemail, but it went through the standard five rings before doing it.

"Mar, hey call me back. I'm starting to get a little nervous." The woman shook her head. "Maybe she's just sleeping in and sitting poolside somewhere," she joked, tried to stay positive.

"In Bon Temps?" Jason said with disbelief.

"After all this here is over, we'll be goin' back," Sookie promised Lilly as she patted her hand. "Bill said later today we're going to meet with Nan Flanagan, you know, the woman who's always on the television representin' the vampires. She's going to talk to us about what happened."

Jason grimaced. "She's kinda scary."

"Well, you don't have to be there then, Jason."

"Good, I won'. I'll be in ma room orderin' room service and pay-per-view."

"Not any of that dirty stuff, I hope," Sookie said pointedly.

Jason chuckled weakly. "'Course not, Sook… I ain't like that—anymore."

Lilly quickly changed the subject. "Flanagan _is_ kind of scary." Nan Flanagan wasn't scary, so much as cold it seemed. Granted, Lilly had only ever seen her on television. "Are we all supposed to be there?"

"Those who were there at the church and then when the suicide bomber came in—yeah, I think so. In case she'd want to ask us questions, and Godric probably wants us there..." Sookie looked uncertain a moment but was reassured by the reminder of Bill being there with her, no matter what happened.

Lillian slowly nodded her head, disconcerted. Again, she was to be a lone hunter amongst a room of those she was supposed to hunt. But there was no way that she would miss it.

* * *

Sam looked up as the door to the apartment opened. When Andy stepped inside, Merlotte immediately stood and took one of the brown paper bags out of the man's hands so that he could get through the door a little easier.

"Picked up some bread an' some…pickles," Andy said and glanced over at Marylin. The look on his face was a mix of suspicion, disgust, and curiosity all rolled into one.

"Pickles?" Sam also pulled some clean clothes out of the bag. "Never mind, thanks for picking this stuff up, Andy. We really appreciate it."

"My pleasure," the ex-police officer said gruffly. He was already burping deep in his throat, as he used the edge of a nightstand to pop off the cap to a bottle of beer.

Marylin went up to him and crossed her arms, asking, "Andy, did you see anyone out there with those black eyes? Was anyone acting strange at all?"

The man regarded her through a glassy gaze and took a moment, for his comprehension was clearly impeded. "Uh, no I don' think so. But I was on the lookout!"

"Good." Marylin looked at Sam briefly, giving him a look that asked '_Should Andy be drinking so much_?' "I think we should leave by dawn tomorrow, since the phones aren't working and we can't call for help," she said. "I know of some hunters who live a few states over, so we'll go there."

"Hunters?" Sam asked speculatively as he headed over to the bathroom. Once inside, he removed his shirt and splashed some water over his face, his shoulders to clean up a little. Then he pulled on the new shirt that Andy had brought him.

"You sure that's such a good deal?"

"What hunters?" Andy blinked owlishly at Marylin as though he was trying to concentrate. "I know of 'em, some hunters. Took down a giant crocodile."

Sam returned. "I don't think that's quite what she means, Andy."

"Friends," Marylin reiterated. "I know of some _friends_. They might be able to help us take down this thing. And only once we leave here, I'll be able to call Lilly, tell her what's happening. She's probably been calling me…" The woman huffed, turning round to go sit again. "But why isn't she back yet with Sookie?"

"Probably somethin' with the vampires," Sam said with a small snort. The man draped his old shirt over the back of a chair. "They have a way of making their business more important than anyone else's."

"Mm. I don' like them vampires. Damn devils," Andy interjected into the conversation.

Marylin frowned at the unpleasant thought and muttered, "You got that right." As she looked away, her worry surfaced to her face. Lilly didn't know what was happening _here_, and Marylin didn't know what was happening _there_. She only hoped Lilly wasn't in trouble too somehow.

"Andy, you have the salt? Sam, can you help me salt the door and windows? We'll at least have some protection for the night."

"Yeah, I'll grab some." Sam went to the paper grocery bag sitting on the bed. "Andy, did you pick up that salt like I asked?" Sure enough, Sam found that there were a couple canisters of the salt inside. He passed one to Marylin so that they could set to work. "It'll stall them at the very least."

She nodded, happy that he finally trusted her methods. "Hopefully."

Andy watched with raised eyebrows, bottle frozen on the way to his mouth, as the two started lining the doors and windows like they said they would. Clearly, the cop wasn't the only crazy one.

"You two weren't kiddin', were ya?"

"At this point, I'll try just about anything," Sam told him with a grin while he concentrated on his task.

Andy sat down on the bed and took a long pull from his bottle. "Mmhmm… Whole town's going crazy."

* * *

"_Do you guys have any fucking idea of the kind of PR mess you've made? And who's got to clean it up now? _Me_. Not you. _Me_. I should drain every one of you bastards."_

Nan Flanagan certainly was an angel. She gave proof to why televisions never showed people exactly as they were. This woman was deadly. Her age was unknown, but even to Godric she showed little respect, telling him off every which way. And the sheriff took it all without a single protest, which angered Eric to no end.

"Stan went to the church on his own," Eric said stonily. "No one knew anything about it."

"It was my fault," Godric spoke up. He didn't look at anyone in particular. "I underestimated the human's reaction."

"You bet your ass you did," Nan replied with a scoff. Lillian couldn't help but narrow her gaze on her into a glare. This woman had no sense of respect whatsoever. "What were you thinking?"

"I thought to help. I wanted to show that humans and vampires could coexist peacefully." Godric swallowed and lowered his eyes to the ground in apology. "I went with them willingly."

Nan did a double take, even more incredulous. "You _what_? Are you out of your mind? They were going to have you meet the _sun_."

"No one was supposed to get involved. Isabel had things well in hand."

"And that's supposed to make it all better?" Nan snapped at him. "What did you hope was going to happen? You fucked up, Sheriff. Big time."

"I am aware of the mistakes that I have made," he agreed.

"Good, because you're going to have to pay for them."

Eric snarled suddenly and flew from his seat. If it hadn't been for Bill, who stopped him, he would've lunged at the bureaucratic bitch and aimed for her throat.

"Don't speak to him like that! Godric, you don't have to take shit from her. She's just a bureaucrat! She doesn't have authority over you."

"I intend to," Godric replied, only glancing at Eric. "I will make full amends for what I have done." The man paused, but it was only for breath, as if he'd known all along what he was going to say. "I relinquish all of my authority as Sheriff. Isabel will take over the territory in my stead."

"Sheriff!" Isabel said in shock with eyes wide. He was the rightful Sheriff, not her!

Eric fell back from Bill's hold and into his chair, frozen with stun. Nan arched a delicate brow and blankly regarded the old vampire a moment.

"Good, 'cause I was going to fire you anyway. Now, what was the thing about the traitor?" Her eyes roved to Sookie and Lilly. "Why were these two involved in the matter?"

Not wanting an obvious attention to weakness, Lillian had stashed her crutches behind the couch she sat on and remained quiet while the proceedings went on. Now though, she sat up a little straighter.

"It was decided that, to reduce the amount of possible bloodshed, sending humans into the church was a better idea than sending a vampire," Lilly answered. She could speak for herself.

It could have been a trick of the light, but it almost seemed like curiosity glinted in Godric's eyes, especially while he looked at the hunter.

"Is that so?" Nan glanced at Godric again and sarcastically said, "How brilliant."

Eric growled in his throat again.

"Ms. Flanagan."

Now Sookie spoke up and cleared her throat a bit nervously. The TV woman's expression grew even more exasperated. "It could've gone a lot worse, a million times worse if it weren't for Godric. You think you've got a PR mess now? Back there, in that church, it could've been a lot uglier."

"Okay. Enough, little girl."

Sookie narrowed her eyes. "No one got hurt!"

"But then a suicide bomber came and decided to blow up the place. Was everyone alive then?"

"I have taken responsibility for what has happened," Godric said again, "and I am deeply sorry, but these two humans had nothing to do with it."

Lillian shook her head.

"Godric was trying to help," she admitted softly. "You can't expect to factor in fanatics. They're loose canons, and frankly, Ma'am, I think he's managed to change more humans minds from this one act than many of the public vampires have done through their outlets." Though she didn't call Nan out directly, there was an underlying barb. Annoyance twitched in the vampire's face. "He's shown more humanity and compassion than many of the humans that sought to destroy him."

All of them looked at her, surprised at her defense—especially _Eric_, whose face fell and visibly softened.

"That's nice." Though Nan didn't snap again, she still wasn't dissuaded and didn't take back what she said. "Godric, sometime you'll need to come to my suite and fill out the forms."

The old vampire watched as the woman stood up, and nodded. "I will set everything right."

"Relax, it's only a few signatures."

Nan walked past him and headed straight out the room. Godric stood up as well and looked over at Eric, who swallowed hard and clenched his jaw. Though Godric didn't say anything, his intent was clear in his eyes. As the rest made to leave too, the progeny intercepted his maker, grabbing his arm.

"No, Godric, you have to listen to me-"

"The rooftop," was Godric's reply. He didn't pull his arm out of his offspring's hand but rather waited for him to let go. Once he did, the older vampire left the room. He had to meet with Nan. And, afterwards, a higher power.

Not watching him go, Eric simply stared at the ground, as if unable to move. Sookie and Bill quietly disappeared into their own room. Lillian glanced awkwardly towards the back of the couch. Not wanting to disturb Eric, the hunter quietly stood and slowly, while half-hopping, made her way from the room as well. When his gaze shot up to her, the vampire finally seemed to break out of his reverie and swept out.

* * *

_A bit later, Lilly goes to check on Godric and Eric. She finds them on the roof, realizes what Godric plans to do. She offers to stay with him until sunrise. Afterward, she returns to the hotel._

She was shaking. Godric was gone, and she had waited well past the end to be his witness, to make sure he hadn't stepped into the light alone. He'd been so at peace in that moment. The moment the sun had broken the horizon, the first rays of light painted the sky and the surrounding buildings bronze. Then the great orb of light bathed him in its heavenly warmth. Though Lillian knew that the world would be a little darker without his presence, part of her believed in the reason he had chosen to end his life.

Moving with her crutches would have been slow going, so Lillian had left them in her room before she had even found Godric and Eric on the roof. Her thoughts were so wrapped up in what she had just witnessed, the connection between her mind and her body had fogged, so she didn't even notice her wound. The stairs had been the most treacherous part of her journey. But once she had climbed down from the roof, she was able to take the elevator all the way down to her floor.

Sookie had told her to ignore him. She was probably right. But, as Lilly passed his room and saw that the door was partially ajar, she couldn't bring herself to walk past it.

Eric was in pain. Though she didn't feel any pity or sympathy for him, she did feel a certain kinship instead. You see, Lillian knew loss. She understood the pain that was felt when the one you loved above all else was forever taken from you. Her beloved grandma had died several years ago, and Bobby was the only one left.

Carefully, she leaned against the wall beside the open part of his door, rested her forehead against the jamb.

Inside, his face streaked with tears of red, the man slowly raised his head and listened the hunter's breathing. Eric was far from the doorway, in his bedroom where he sat hunched on the edge of his bed. But he had heard her before she had even reached his door. Half of him expected her to come in—in fact a slight part of him hoped that anyone would—but the hunter wasn't going to and he wasn't in the least bit surprised. Eric would thank her later, for she was the last person to see his maker, after all. And that would be it.

Slowly, Lillian put a hand on the edge of the door and pushed it open. It softly creaked, then stopped at a ninety-degree angle from the threshold. She kept her head against the doorframe and her eyes closed.

Would it be so bad to simply go in and help him?

Mind made up and resolve solidified, the woman stepped into his room. But she went no more than three steps before she stopped. Ahead of her was the divider that separated the main room from where his bed was. Yet he wasn't in her line of sight, and that was for the best.

"_Peace_, Eric," she whispered simply. She hoped that he would find some.

Then, the hunter turned and stepped out of the room. Carefully and as quietly as she could, she returned the door to its original position.

Though he had heard her, the vampire stared ahead. Lost in his misery.

Peace? The word was foreign to him. Why had the hunter said it, of all things? Godric was gone. There could be no peace after that. Godric was gone forever. His father, his brother, his son. Nothing would ever be the same again.

A crimson tear fell to the ground. Eric found no will to move on.


	8. Corrupt

I could corrupt you  
It will be easy  
Watching you suffer  
Girl, it will please me

I wanna touch you  
With my little finger  
I know it will crush you  
My memory would linger

You'll be crying out in pain  
Begging me to play my games

~Depeche Mode

. . .

"Don't know why we're leavin'," Andy grumbled from the back seat. "Damn zombies taken over the town and you two're runnin' scared."

Sam glanced back in the rear view mirror before returning his attention back to the road. "Oh, come on, Andy. We're not runnin' scared, we're livin' to fight another day."

"Yellow-bellied cowards," the drunk muttered, his lower lip stuck out like a petulant child.

Marylin turned to Andy and looked at him seriously.

"We won't be able to handle this on our own. We'll return with some backup. Didn't you see how they were acting? Fighting each other, bashing their heads into poles? They're possessed, Andy…possessed with something even I don't know how to fight." Part of her felt guilty, like she was indeed giving up, but she knew that if they ran in there half-cocked, they'd lose.

The man rolled his eyes and looked out the window. He raised a brown paper bag to his mouth.

"_What the_-"

Sam's foot switched to the break. The truck stuttered as it tried to come to a stop.

There in front of them were two cars blocking the road. People were everywhere. Some were sitting on the hoods of the vehicles, others standing beside it. The common theme was that all of them were armed. Pitchforks, pieces of wood, shot guns—every person was armed to the man. But what was possibly more disturbing was their eyes. All of them were _black_.

The three paled and Marylin immediately started reaching for her gun. The mob had begun to advance on them at once, weapons aimed.

"Shit! They're not going to let us out."

"I told yous we gotta fight!" yelled Andy, who sprung forward between her and Sam. "Drive, Sam! Run 'em fuckers down!"

"No! Sam, turn around! Is there another way out of here?"

They all jumped as a bullet hit the hood, followed by another.

"Jesus!" Sam slammed the truck hard into reverse. Naturally, Andy flew forward even further into the dash, swearing and nearly face-planting into the radio.

"Andy! Would you sit yer ass down please!"

More shots rang out against them. Taking a chance, Sam spun the wheel, turned the truck a little more tightly than he had anticipated. They didn't flip, though. So then he shakily threw the truck in drive and sped back down the road, away from the mob.

He looked back over his shoulder and demanded, "What the hell was that?"

"They're trying to keep us in… They're not going to let us leave," Marylin stated the obvious and stared anxiously ahead. She tried to figure out what they'd do next. "Is there another road out of here we can take? They could've have blocked every way."

"What the hell!" Andy interjected. "Don't you two dumbasses see? They want us to fight! We gotta fight!"

"Andy, we can't fight them!" snapped the woman. "It would be the three of us against an entire town! Do you want to die? They'd just kill you and me and then get Sam and sacrifice him like they tried before."

Sam didn't look too thrilled with Marylin's restating of facts, but at least it shut Andy up.

"Yeah, there are more roads out of town, but the problem is they all lead to that main one. We have to get around it."

"We need pigeons er somethin'," the ex-cop muttered from the back.

Sam sighed. "Let's just head back to Andy's for now till with think of another plan. We need to get to your friends, but right now I don't see how we can."

Marylin looked back… Thankfully they weren't being chased. Out of sheer fortune, somehow the trio managed to make it back to their hideout without any more roadblocks and locked themselves in again. Only now they were back where they started. Andy resumed drinking, nearly finished with his whiskey bottle. Sam and Marylin resumed their sulking.

That is, until a sudden phone call jarred them alert.

After giving Marylin a strange look, Sam pulled his phone out of his back pocket.

"I thought the signals were all down…" The name across the front screen flashed _Merlotte's_, making him groan. "Hello?" he asked wearily. His eyes narrowed on the wall in front of him.

At first, like the time before, there was no answer. Had someone else been killed? But after about 10 seconds, Arlene's sobbing voice came ringing through.

"Sam? Sam!"

"Arlene? What's going on?"

"Sam, you gotta come to _Merlotte's_ quick," the woman said between wheezing breaths. "There-there's a mob in front and-and they've got Terry…and I think they're comin' for me too. I'm so scared!"

Marylin watched Sam, kept quiet and tried to listen in.

"Just get out the back, Arlene. I-I'm sorry, but I can't get anywhere near that place." Sam glanced at Marylin and shook his head. There was already an undecided worry on his face. Arlene was one of his waitresses.

"Sam," she pleaded. "But they've got those big black eyes and they're fightin' each other and-and wrecking the whole place. I'ma scared they're gonna get my kids, and no one's pickin' up the phone in the Sheriff's office, so I don' know what else to d-do, Sam."

"Alright. Arlene, stay put, I'll be right over. Stay inside and don't come out for anyone." The man didn't give her a chance to respond before snapping the cell phone shut. "I've gotta go check on the bar. Marylin, why don't you stay here with Andy?"

He headed towards the door, his truck's keys dangling from his fingers.

But Marylin rushed after him, intercepting his way. "Wait, what? Are you crazy? Sam, we just got back."

"I don't have a choice, Marylin," Sam explained. His hand reached around her for the doorknob. "Stay here." Pointedly, he looked at her to move out of his way.

"No. If you're going to go, then I'm going with you. Why do I have to tell you this every ti-" The woman was unwaveringly stubborn.

"Fuck, we're all goin'! Move!" declared Andy. And he drunkenly pushed between them and through the door. "We're gonna find 'em zombies and beat the shit outta them! The three of us—together!"

Marylin and Sam quickly went after the cop to their car. "Andy," Marylin called out to him. "You should stay. It's not safe for-"

"Shut it, woman. I'm a cop and I'm takin' over this mission as leader and I say we're all goin'." Andy faced them as determinedly as he could, raising a fist. "Now if you're with me, you're with me. We ain't breakin' up, 'cause then we might as well all be dead."

"Fine, let's just go." Sam was the last to leave the apartment.

Merlotte leaned over the steering wheel of his truck as they pulled up behind his restaurant.

"There's no one outside. Arlene said she's inside… Come on."

As quietly as he could, Sam climbed out of his truck and headed towards the back kitchen door. He was stupidly walking into what was probably the lion's den, but he didn't have a choice. If Arlene had been telling the truth and something had happened to her, he would never forgive himself.

Andy followed in after the man, not nearly as sneaky, and blearily looked around.

"Arlene?" Sam called in a loud whisper. Marylin held her gun at her side, watching both their backs. There was no one in sight. The place was emptier than ever. The only sound they heard was a far-off leaky faucet.

"There ain' no one here," mumbled Andy. "S'like the Sheriff's office."

But Sam held a finger to his mouth and listened harder, certain that whoever was here was hiding.

"Arlene, come on out…" Slowly, Sam walked forward, everything about him poised. "Arlene?"

"_'Bout time you showed up_."

Smiling, Arlene stepped out of the waitress station. Her eyes were black.

"I gotta admit, Sam, its real sweet of you comin' down here like this." A laugh bubbled up from her sounding almost hyena-like.

"Dammit, Arlene!"

Sam turned immediately to go back the way the three of them had come from, but already, people had circled them. They came in through the same entrance they had used. Marylin and Andy spun back-to-back, the former aiming.

"Nobody move! You don't want to get hurt," the hunter shouted.

The mob laughed at her and then in unison began to chant, a chant the trio recognized from several nights ago.

"_Lo Lo Bromios. Lo Lo Dendrites…Eleutherios, Enorches, Bacchus_."

They rounded on the three and swiped at them with knives. Marylin cocked back her hammer. But Andy was the one to fire first, straight in the air.

"Not this shit again! Zombie fuckers-!" His cousin appeared out of the crowd and grabbed his arm. "Terry, you bastard-!"

The sound of the gunshot had only stunned the crowd for a moment. Then they again began to chant, getting closer and closer to them. Until once again, an unexpected, simultaneous hush fell over the crowd. It began parting.

"S_am_!" called a familiar voice. "So glad you could make it!"

MaryAnn smiled, strolling in through the opening, graceful as always.

"And here I was thinking you would miss it."

"MaryAnn, what the fuck do you want?" But Sam knew, for the most part, the answer to that question.

Terry snapped the gun out of Andy's hand and Andy fell in pain to the ground. Marylin stayed close to Sam and aimed for MaryAnn's head.

"E-exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus!" the hunter recited in panic, not knowing what else to do. "Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii!"

Almost at once, her minions had begun to cry and moan. They held their heads, shuddered painfully. Some fell to their knees. The rite was affecting the evil influence that had come over them. But MaryAnn herself suddenly seethed with no effect.

"Nice try," she spat. Marylin gasped. "Lo Lo _Bromios_. Lo Lo _Dendrites_. _Eleutherios, Enorches, Bacchus_." MaryAnn eyes locked onto the hunter's and never blinked.

Sam was then jumped from the side. Two construction workers he knew from the town tried to wrestle him to the ground.

"Don't fight it, Sam." "It's gonna be fun!" they said.

"_Sam_-!"

Marylin's gun was knocked from her hands and she fell before MaryAnn, right at her feet. Rather, pushed in the back by a woman behind her. Then the Maenad began to shake. Just like a snake. She casted her hypnotic spell, reached for the Marylin's head. Marylin was unable to look away.

Fighting two grown men, who easily dwarfed him, was too much for Sam. With MaryAnn right there, he couldn't even shift to free himself. What caught him off guard was when he saw the two women.

MaryAnn was smiling down at Marylin, her hand _so_ close. As soon as she touched her fingertips to the hunter's head, Marylin's eyes turned black. Just like the others.

"NO!" Sam struggled wildly against his captors to no avail.

Instead, the two men used Sam's burst of energy to get him up on his feet, but it didn't stop there. Merlotte was lifted into the air above the peoples' heads. People crowded underneath him, all wanting to touch the sacrifice that the coming god demanded. His arms, his legs, his face. Even between his legs. Shit!

"Andy! Get Marylin and get out of here!"

But the drunk was cradling his wrists and running for the back door.

Except it was blocked, and the mob snatched Andy then, too. They easily knocked him unconscious to drag him by the collar. With Marylin in tow, MaryAnn cheerfully marched them out of the restaurant and back to the Stackhouse residence. That was where the sacrifice was to later take place.

* * *

"If it weren't fer that seatbelt, you'd be buzzin' around back there like a bumblebee," Jason commented with a grin as he watched Lillian over the shoulder of his seat.

They had left _Fangtasia_ and the subsequently filled travel coffin, aside from Bill's, a half an hour earlier and were now just starting to reach the fringes of Bon Temps.

Lillian's eyes flicked over to Jason but quickly returned to scanning the scenery they passed. "I just haven't heard from my partner in five days. That doesn't happen."

"We're almost there, Lil," Sookie promised, what was probably the fifth time. But the girl understood her friend's worry and stayed patient for her. "We'll be there in ten minutes. Look, we're passing Melville. That's right by us. We'll be there soon."

"That's weird," her brother said suddenly, after he'd reached for his cell phone. "I'm not getting' any service on my phone."

"I'm sure just one of the local towers is out," Lillian offered, deciding that that was in fact the problem.

When they pulled into Bon Temps, all of their mouths dropped open. It was destroyed. It looked like the following of an Emo rock band had stormed through the town, wrecked everything in its wake with mayhem and graffiti.

Even the 'Welcome to Bon Temps' sign had been "re-made".

Jason turned in his seat. "What the _hell_?" He tried to see more of the town as they started down the main drag.

Sookie gasped and pointed. "Oh my God. Look at that man! _No_—is he actually-?"

There beside the General Goods store, standing right in the open for everyone to watch, was a man who was urinating. He laughed as he did so. In fact, both she and Jason recognized him as a Merlotte's frequenter.

"Is that…Joe Duboise?"

"I think it is!"

"What the hell is he doin'!"

All three of them then turned to the other side of the street. To their increasing alarm they saw something even more disturbing. A couple was having sex right under a tree. And it didn't stop there. The further they got into town, the more they saw, but it wasn't until they reached a particular establishment out on the off skirts of town, Lillian freaked out.

The hunter practically yelled at the top of her lungs to stop the car. And before it had even come to a halt, she opened the car and stumbled out, ignoring the pain that shot through her leg. Hobbling as fast as she could, she made her way to her Camaro. It had been beaten to hell. A headlight had been busted out, the windshield destroyed, two tires were flat. Obscenities were spray-painted all over it. Even the hood looked like it had taken a beating.

Tenderly, Lillian ran her hand over it, looking inside for any sign of her friend. When she found none, she turned and headed straight into _Merlotte's_.

"Whoa, whoa there!" called out Jason. His hand darted out to grab her arm and stop her. "Let me go in ahead first. Don't want anythin' to…jump out in front of you girls." Stepping past her, he entered the building.

Apprehensive, Sookie followed Lillian and stayed close. "What in the world…_happened here_?"

Inside, _Merlotte's_ was almost as wrecked as the rest of the town. The windows were broken, glass littered the floor, chairs were toppled everywhere. Tables were turned over on their sides and liquor had been spilled. The three couldn't believe their eyes. It was like the apocalypse came and went in the form of a tornado. A mere couple hours ago, too.

Jason cautiously led the women around the chaos. "Holy-"

"Shit," Lilly finished for him in utter disbelief. She'd seen plenty of places that had been ransacked, but this had an entirely different feel. The outcome of total anarchy.

"We need to find Marylin."

The cell phones were still down, however.

"Sookie, I think we should head back to Bill's place so we can regroup and figure out what to do." Though Lillian wouldn't admit it, she'd feel better once Bill was awake.

Exchanging worried glances with her brother, Sookie nodded and all three of them hurried back to the van.

* * *

"Andy… _Andy_!"

Sam stretched out one of his legs to nudge the slowly-waking drunk.

"Andy, wake up, goddammit!" Sam hissed.

But when the cop just groaned and his head fell forward, Sam sighed. He was chained to a sturdy bird feeder pole in Sookie's front yard, whereas Andy was tied to a tree. MaryAnn was on the far side of the weird statue that she was building, which was why Sam had taken the momentary distraction to try and rouse his fellow captive.

MaryAnn hummed and sung, as she danced around her statue, adding meat and flowers as she went.

"Oh, Marylin, isn't it beautiful?"

Marylin nodded and smiled with hands daintily clasped in front of her.

"Oh, yes, it is. You were right. He'll just love it!" She had donned a white dress that was just like MaryAnn's green one, and Marylin's eyes still gleamed black. The hunter hadn't realized anything happened. She now thought she was the Maenad's loyal servant and always was.

"Marylin!" Sam pulled against his chains in vain, then let himself lean back against the pole. "Don't listen to her!"

"Oh, Sam," laughed MaryAnn. "Why don't you try to enjoy this a little bit? It's a festival, a beautiful ceremony, and you get to be the main attraction!"

The hunter looked blankly over at Sam and then grinned suddenly and strode over to him. She regarded him with an uncharacteristically curious stare he only shrank from.

"Don't fight MaryAnn, Sammy," she reached to touch his cheek. "It'll all be over soon. I was so stupid before…not realizing that _this_ was the only way."

Marylin playfully pulled on his beard and let out a girly giggle.

"I also never admitted how cute I thought you were."

Sam looked up at her in shock, but he pulled his face away from her hand.

"Don't do this, Marylin. What about your partner, uh…" _What was her name?_ "Remember? What would she say?"

"She'd say…'let's party'?" MaryAnn offered as she readjusted a t-bone steak on the statue.

"Lilly isn't here. But she will be soon!" Marylin glanced back at her mistress and smirked conspiratorially, before turning back to Sam. "I never knew that shifters would be so…" She touched his face again. Her fingers trailed downwards towards his neck and she got lost in thought, biting her lip a moment.

Sam had flinched again from her touch, turned his head in different directions to try and keep her back.

"What's wrong, Sam?" MaryAnn asked from where she stood on her ladder. "Don't you want to play with Marylin?"

Something sparked in her eyes. Marylin then grabbed Merlotte's face and pulled it back towards her.

Their lips met in an instant. Before the man could even utter a single protest, the hunter forced a kiss out of him. In fact, she held his head so steady, Sam was unable to gasp for breath. When Marylin finally broke it off, he was left sputtering, and her black gaze bore deep into his. But she spoke to MaryAnn.

"When we're done with him, I could find you another one," the hunter said, her expression almost hungry. "Or I could find you something else."

MaryAnn's expression became adoring. "Oh… That's so sweet. Although, I think we need to find you a _real_ man. One that'll last beyond tonight."

Sam breathed heavily. "Marylin, you don't know what you're doing! You have to fight…" Both saddened and simply out of will, the man slumped back against his pole.

Fortunately, the hunter stood and stepped back. Now she appeared a bit dismayed.

"I kinda liked him… Oh, well. I guess that's just too bad." With that, she obediently trotted back to MaryAnn, just as Karl came back with dead crow on a tray.

"Feathers, mistress?" he said.

"Perfect!" MaryAnn approved. Smiling, she selected a long, black feather. "Just what it needed!"

* * *

"Sheriff Dearborne? Somebody? This is Jason Stackhouse. Can someone call me back and tell me what the hell's goin' on around here? Did terrorists take over or somethin'? Where is every-" but there came the beep and the man swore. He hung up and turned back to his sister and Lilly. "Damn answerin' machine. No one's answerin'."

The travel coffin opened to let Bill out and Sookie rushed to him.

"Bill, somethin' bad's happenin' here. Everyone we know's gone crazy!"

Bill welcomed Sookie into his arms, cradling her in front of him. "What do you mean?"

Lillian sat down on Bill's couch to rest its leg. "Literally, just what she said."

Jason lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head. "The town's gone wacko. Whole place is torn up. You missed it, sleeping in yer…bed."

"We don't know where anyone is." Lillian grimaced and rubbed a hand down over her eyes to try and wake up her mind. She needed to _think_ and find her partner.

"You think this is because of the bull man?" Bill questioned, looking at his girlfriend.

Sookie shrugged with a frown. "I don't know… Maybe."

They all looked up to a sudden noise that came from upstairs, as a fat, old lady in pink unexpectedly appeared and leaned against the banister.

"Well, look who's here. The vamper and his vamper lover… Oh, and the other hunter, too? Ain't this a potluck."

"Momma!" Hoyt and Jessica ran out of the room behind her and pulled her back. But his mother cackled and shoved her son off to saunter down the steps.

"Christ!" Jason noticed her eyes. "What's wrong with her eyes?"

"Little boy Stackhouse… Mm-mm-mm. You're like one of those Greek statues, all muscley and well-endowed. Why don't you take off that shirt there?" the old woman inquired.

"E-excuse me?" Jason stuttered. He started to fend off her rising hands.

"What is the meaning of this?" Bill demanded.

"I-I'm sorry, Sir. We didn't know what else to do," Hoyt started to explain.

"I could eat you up with a spoon, stuff ya, and put you in the corner of ma livin' room. Lookin' like some hunk of the wild!"

"S-Sookie!" Jason pleaded as he grabbed at the woman's flabby hands.

"We couldn't take her anywhere else," Jessica said, apology and annoyance in her voice. "The whole town's gone crazy. They're _all_ like this."

Hoyt managed to pull his mother away from Jason, who went to hide behind Sookie. Lilly left the living room to see what was going on.

"First, I thought it was a bad reaction to her diet pills," Hoyt tried to explain. "But why would diet pills make her eyes black like that and everyone else's? And then she kept on talkin' about some sacrifice that was going to take place at MaryAnn's, well, the Stackhouse's."

"Our house?" both Sookie and Jason said simultaneously.

Hoyt nodded. "She's taken your place over. Momma said they wanted Sam Merlotte to sacrifice-"

"For _God_!" said his crazed mother, shuddering with ecstasy. "For God and his arrival. _Eleutherios, Enorches…Bacchus_…" She chuckled.

Lillian eyed the woman and nodded curtly. "She's possessed."

"What?" Hoyt said in alarm. "What do you mean possessed?"

But Lilly didn't look away from Hoyt's mother.

"_Christo_," she said softly. They all watched as the large woman shuddered briefly and, then, continued on with her chant. "Something has possessed her, I just don't know what. This has to be related to that bull creature Sookie saw."

"You think?" Sookie asked.

Something immediately changed in Bill when he heard it, though he kept his thoughts to himself. He knew what this creature really was.

"She said they've got someone else, I don't know, some woman," Hoyt said, breaking into everyone's thoughts.

The old woman grinned and laughed madly, pointing a fat finger to Lillian. "_Your_ friend."

Lillian stiffened. "What?" But she didn't even wait for an answer. She was already heading over to her bag, which she had dropped on a small table just beside the front door.

Bill appeared in front of her. "I am sorry, but I cannot let you go," he told her seriously. "None of you can go. I must make a phone call."

"_What_?"

"I must make a very important phone call."

"You can't be serious!" Lillian all but yelled at him. It was the first time anyone there had seen her yell. She looked down right pissed off. "My best friend, my _sister_, is over there being held by some crazy woman, and you want me to stay here while you make a damn _phone call_?"

"Unless you wish to join your friend, you will do as I say!" Bill roared right back.

"Bill," Sookie intervened before a full out fight started. Yet she was just confused as the others. "Why do you need to make a call right now?"

"We do not have time to discuss this. If you wish to save your friends, then trust me."

His words were spoken to all of them. However, he watched Sookie as he said them. After looking them all over briefly, Bill turned and swept out of the room.

Hoyt gently took his chanting mother by the shoulders and led her up the stairs. "Come on, Momma. Let's get you back to your room."

"I wonder if Tara's caught up in all this too," Sookie thought aloud, holding her elbows. Jason went to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Seems like everyone is. But don' worry, Sook, we'll make it all right." Yet despite his own reassurance, Jason looked unsure about the whole thing. "Let's just…hope your boyfriend knows what he's doin'."

It was lucky for them that Bill did in fact know what he was doing, at least in this situation. Less than five minutes after he'd left, the vampire returned.

"We are going to see Eric. He may have more information than we do regarding our situation. Jason, please stay here and look after the children."

"O-okay. Guess I have to play babysitter… Great." Both Jason and Jessica groaned, but neither had a choice. The latter, scowling, quickly ran back up the stairs to Hoyt.

Knowing full well that Sookie and Lilly would be going, Bill gestured to the front door, held it open for both ladies to exit.

* * *

_Fangtasia…_

"Had I not said that I didn't want to see anyone, Pam?" came Eric's angry voice through the door.

"You did, Eric…" answered Pam.

The vampire slammed his fist onto his desk, knocking over a pile of books and a vase of dead flowers. "So send them away!"

"Eric, Bill stormed in and said he wouldn't leave. You know how he can get." Pam made an expression that turned her face more unpleasant. "Even Chow couldn't get him to budge. And Sookie and that hunter are there with him, too."

At that, Eric pressed his lips together and tried to relax himself. Though he was still tense, he sat straighter and then leaned back into his chair. He paused a long moment as if to consider.

"Fine. Send them in. They have ten minutes."

Pam scowled and sighed and turned to open the door. "Alright…" To her relief, the lazy woman saw that she didn't have that far to go. Bill had stood right outside and no sooner had the female vampire let go of the doorknob than he walked in.

"Eric," he started. Not even in greeting but in an attempt to get the sheriff's focus so that they could get straight to business. "We have a problem."

Sookie stood behind to let him do the talking. So did Lillian, who stepped into the office but didn't venture far. She leaned back against the wall beside the door, her hands in her pockets, her face very carefully schooled to show absolutely nothing.

Eric eyed the hunter a little longer than necessary and waved an unconcerned hand. "What is it? You have ten minutes."

"Bon Temps has been overrun. We have," distaste and exasperation crossed Bill's face, "a Maenad."

"What?"

But Eric knew what that was. Only his reaction wasn't what they hoped for. The vampire let out a loud laugh, and the next moment he was seething.

"This is what you came to tell me?"

"You are the Sheriff of this territory," Bill shot right back at him. "I did as I am supposed to and made you aware of the situation."

Lillian watched the two vampires carefully, fought the urge to leave. They were wasting time. Eric would not help them. But then Sookie stepped forward beside Bill, clenching her fists.

"Eric, that bull man that attacked me and attacked that woman several weeks ago and took her heart—it was MaryAnn Forrester and she's the Maenad. She's got the whole town under her finger and everyone's runnin' crazy because of it. If you don't believe us, just go see yourself. She's plannin' on sacrificin' Sam Merlotte and she's got Lillian's friend, too."

"She does?" Eric asked with a bit more interest, glancing at the hunter again.

"So will you help us or not?" Sookie questioned.

"…that's a shame." The vampire appeared quite detached and now stared past Lilly. "Hm."

Lillian bit her tongue and turned a little uncomfortable.

"Eric?" Bill asked, trying to break into the older vampire's reverie. "We do not have much time. We have detained one of the possessed, who will help us to determine when the Maenad plans to sacrifice, but other than that we do not know how much time is left."

It took another moment. Finally, Eric returned back to their discussion and looked back at Bill with some unfortunate news.

"I'm afraid I don't know how to stop a Maenad," Eric hardly looked apologetic as he forced a sigh and shrugged. "I never came across one, sorry."

"So you're not even going to _help_?" said Sookie incredulously.

But Lillian wasn't surprised, having expected the vampire not to help. "Okay. Thank you for your time."

Without waiting for the others, she turned and was out of the office in an instant, not looking back. The vampires may have thought that they had all the time in the world, but Lillian was mortal and understood exactly what that meant. No one was going to harm her partner.

Bill only caught a flash of Lilly before she was gone, but he didn't have time to question her exit.

"I have not come across Maenad _either_, which is why I have come to you, _Sheriff_. This is of greater consequence than you seem to realize."

Sookie glared angrily at Eric. He had watched the hunter go. He had to fight off another wave of irritation. The vampire tightly clasped his hands on his desk and leaned forward, fixing Bill with a firm, cold stare.

"You didn't let me finish," Eric scolded tightly. "I don't know how to help you… But I know someone that might. And you know her too, Bill."

At first, Bill didn't know of whom Eric was referring to. But when it did dawn on him, Bill's eyes narrowed.

"No."

Eric was slightly disbelieved. "_No_? I thought you wanted to fix this problem. Very well." Whatever ounce of care there was flew out the window in a second. "Go ahead, let Bon Temps destroy itself. I'm sure no one will notice."

He was already turning away to continue with his own business until Sookie yelled out:

"No! Wait, Bill, who's 'her'? Who are you talking about?"

Bill clenched his teeth and slowly looked over at his girlfriend.

"Eric is referring to…the Queen—the Queen of Louisiana." Going to the Queen had been the last thing on Bill's mind. "She is above even Eric in rank and authority. Her name is Sophie-Anne."

"Ruthless yet wise," Eric mentioned. "I suggest you not take the humans with you when you go, Bill. You know of her liking for blondes. She'll want to add them to her collection."

Sookie grimaced.

"They will not be accompanying me," Bill agreed. "Unfortunately, Eric is right," he told Sookie gently. "I will go and see her tonight. Are you coming with, Eric?"

Eric glowered. "You need me to hold your hand?"

Rather than reply, Bill turned to Sookie and lightly took hold of her shoulders.

"I will return just as soon as I am able. Until then, you will be safe here with Eric."

The Sheriff couldn't hide the faintly sly smirk on his face as Bill led Sookie out of the Sheriff's office. The door was slammed shut in their wake.

Outside, leaning against the car, Lillian waited. She was agitated, but when she saw them come out, she nodded resolutely.

"If we hurry, we'll have time to go to Sookie's house and arrange how exactly we're—"

"There will be no arranging," Bill told her as he stepped to the driver's side door. "You and Sookie will be staying here until I get back."

Lillian adjusted the small mailbag that she wore over one shoulder. She stared at him as he climbed into the car. Bill was entirely serious. When he turned on the ignition, she leaned forward and grabbed the door.

"No, you're not leaving us here. We're going back to the town. You're not going on another pointless errand!"

"Release the car," Bill said quietly.

"Lilly, he's going for help," Sookie tried to tell the hunter. "He's going to try talking to the Queen of Louisiana." It sounded silly even to her—the Queen of Louisiana—but because that's how it was, Sookie took her friend's arm to pull her back.

"Lillian…she might know something."

Lilly seethed, and Sookie actually succeeded in pulling her away from the car. The vampire gave them one last look and drove off. With anger rolling off of her, the hunter shook away from the waitress' grasp and reentered the club. Lilly made her way to a far table in the corner and sat to begin her research. Unfortunately, the research that she had brought wasn't much. Stuff on bulls in mythology and other forms of possession. Marylin and Lilly kept all of their research together in one spot: their journal. And Lilly didn't know where it was at the moment.

It was going to be a long night. With one hand shaking a pen and the other shoved into the hair above her forehead, Lillian tried to concentrate. But she did little more than staring off.

Pam _hmph'_ed as she passed by. Sookie took a seat on a red velvet bench nearby, deciding to leave Lilly alone for a while. It was going to be a_ very_ long night.

* * *

It was two hours or so later when the boss finally crawled out of his hole and made a very apathetic appearance in his club. Eric passed by the bar to briefly inspect the activity there, strolled by the dance cages and their skimpy go-go dancers, quickly greeted his vampire patrons who were snacking on a couple of dazed sluts. And finally he then paused by Pam, who was presently playing bouncer, to inquire about the rest of _Fangtasia's_ progress.

His progeny grimaced in her characteristic way, told them today's business was like any other days', but pointed to the far end of the club where a sad and unfortunate sight appeared to be clearing one-fifth of the bar.

Eric turned and saw Lillian still at the table she'd claimed earlier. For a moment the vampire thought she was sleeping like Sookie, curled up on a couch, but then Lilly moved and yawned, revealing research she was still hovering over.

"She's been like that all night," Pam explained, absentmindedly letting in a couple of young regulars. "Everyone's wonderin' how the hell I let her in."

"I'll take care of it." Eric made his prompt way to the hunter to deal with the problem himself.

"_No,_ thank you, as I've already said," said Lilly, without looking up to see the vampire that she didn't know was standing there.

She had seen him approach from her peripheral vision and if it was _that_ one vampire—that biker vampire with the pornographic tattoos on his pale, thick biceps—she was tempted to get a little rude if he didn't shove off. Although she was clearing out that area of the club, something that hadn't really dawned on her, she had been approached multiple times with various…offers.

Eric's faint smirk only grew when she jumped to his voice.

"_Did you think I've come to ask for your services? While I'd be much obliged, I'm not hungry at the moment_."

Lilly dropped her pen and looked up at him. Her look of surprise morphed into that of curiosity and suspicion. She glanced around at his patrons before back up at the Sheriff. She hadn't expected him that night. It didn't matter that they were in his establishment. He had made it very clear before that he hadn't wanted to be disturbed.

"No, I thought you were someone else…" she said.

Eric too glanced once more around his bar and decided to inform her: "You're making my customers talk. A human sulking in the corner stands out like a sore thumb. Maybe you should get yourself a drink?"

"And perhaps shove myself into a vampire's lap, laugh, and tilt my head back?" Lillian replied as sweetly as she could. Then she sighed and flexed her shoulders to stretch them.

Maybe a drink _would_ help. Not the red kind. Eric was already snapping his fingers for a waitress.

"I'm not sulking, I'm trying to work." She wasn't sure if she had the energy to stand up to Eric's dry humor and sarcasm. Usually she enjoyed bantering with him.

The vampire peered slightly at her papers from where he stood, raising an eyebrow. "Does work usually consume your life at all hours, even at night?"

"It's rare that it doesn't," she admitted. She gestured to a chair for him to take if he wished to. Perhaps some conversation was all she needed to get her mind on track. "Doesn't _your_ work usually consume your life? Especially the night? Something tells me you're hardly one to judge."

A small smirk formed at the corner of her mouth.

Eric smiled faintly, and after what seemed like a moment of indecision, he did sit. Ginger, whom Lillian had met before, came scurrying to them and lost all confidence with her boss there. The stick-thin waitress blinked, nodded at the hunter.

"I-I—well, hi there again."

"Get Lillian what she wants," Eric told her.

"A-and a glass of vintage for you, sir?"

"No," he answered dully. "I don't want anything."

With his answer, Ginger nervously looked back at Lillian. "What would you l-like?"

Lillian smiled gently. "A shot of scotch would be great, thanks."

"Sure thing. I'll just go and uh, get that for you then." Ginger smiled, though when she glanced at her boss, her smile turned nervous. She left, and the hunter pilled all her notes into one stack.

"I admit, trying to go unnoticed in a club, especially in one such as yours is hard to do. Even in the corner." With her work for the most part put away, Lilly turned back at Eric.

"Does she mean a lot to you, your friend?" he asked her unexpectedly. His tone was surprisingly level this time.

The thought of Marylin and Lilly's mind immediately turned grayer. Her eyes drifted away across the club.

"Yes, she does. She's my sister in everything but blood." She smirked and shook her head. "Probably that too at times."

Though Eric didn't like Marylin at all, he understood what it was to care about someone. Godric was the only one he had ever truly loved. Remembering him again, the vampire felt his grief resurface, his own expression turning solemn.

"Bill's gone to the queen. She should help you get your friend back."

Lillian opened her mouth to reply, but Ginger was already back with her drink order. The hunter took a sip and nodded. The blossoming warmth down her throat and stomach was just what she needed.

"It tastes great, Ginger, thanks."

A look of relief crossed the waitress' face and she hurried away.

Lilly placed her glass back down onto the table and answered Eric:

"I hope she can." She slowly took a breath. "Thank you for letting us stay here, while Bill is gone. I know we haven't exactly been…the life of the party."

"It's fine," Eric assured briskly. Then he just as quickly admitted: "Neither have I."

He glanced over at Sookie, when he heard her turn over and let out a soft snore. With Bill not back yet, Eric just let her continue sleeping on the red velvet couch. It was less annoying that way—though the telepath was handy to have around, when she opened her mouth each time, the vampire had to resist smothering her.

"Thank you…" Eric lowered his eyes, now finding the next thing on his mind even harder to admit. "Thank you for staying with Godric."

At first, Lillian was silent. Though she knew he was thankful for her help, she never thought she would hear him say it.

"He deserved more than one lone human standing with him at the end…more than what I could give him, but," the woman paused and turned to fully face him. "You're welcome."

She hadn't been able to convince Godric to stay with them in this world, and yet Eric thanked her? Her stomach clenched in remorse.

He eyed her out of the corner of his gaze, tried to hide a deep frown that slid across his white face. His voice was quiet. "He was loved by many," the man said. "Nothing will be the same without him."

"And it shouldn't." Lillian knew it wasn't easy for him to speak this way, and she didn't want it to be any more difficult than it needed to be. "I'm not going to pretend that I have the answer that will make it all better, but I do know that Godric-"

She sighed and closed her eyes, hovering over her glass the same way she had over her papers. Who was she to express Godric's wishes to him?

But not wanting something hidden from him, Eric lifted his head. "Godric what? He said something to you?"

Lillian opened her eyes, her brows drawn together slightly.

"He said…he'd once given you what you most wanted." The woman licked her lips of the scotch's taste and drew a breath. "He wanted to remind you of what that was—_Life_."

Eric swallowed and immediately diverted his gaze. He didn't know how to decipher those cryptic words. _Remind_ him? They left him so befuddled that a near frustration began coursing through him. Godric mentioned life and yet had given up his _own_? He had become a different person, reached so high to some sort of unknown revelation. He didn't even let Eric in to try and comprehend, while he was still alive.

"Remind me how? By _dying_?" Eric demanded of Lilly. She was careful to keep herself grounded and her voice calm.

"I don't think it's my place to try and interpret, but I think he wanted you to try and find some solace without him. Peace."

Eric scowled. _That_ goddamn word again.

Lilly no longer really knew what she was doing. She didn't even fear him. She could see the pain in his face and hear it in his words, through the hurt anger. Gently, she reached for one of his hands and covered it with her own. Her fingers curled beneath his palm.

"I think he wanted you to live your life—to embrace what you love most."

Her touch surprised the vampire but effectively stalled any bitter tears in his eyes. The warmth of her skin immediately calmed him. Eric wished he didn't have to hear his maker's words from someone else, but at least—at least it was Lillian who was delivering them. As he stared at her, for once he didn't regard her as just a hunter. Her kindness was uncharacteristic—she _cared_. Pam understood. Pam had comforted as much as she could. But she had lacked the human comfort that sometimes, very deep inside, through the stoic, cold, violent vampire nature, a vampire just needed. What human could be kind to a vampire without pissing themselves with fear?

Apparently Lilly. Her hand was so warm. So small compared to his.

They heard another snort from Sookie and the girl finally woke up. She looked around with minor alarm until she spotted Lilly.

"Is Bill back?"

At the interruption, Lilly briefly closed her eyes and removed her hand from Eric's. Though she had sought to comfort _him_, _she_ also found a small measure of her own tension easing. But now there wouldn't be any more quiet moments with Sookie awake.

"No," the hunter replied to her friend. "But I don't believe he'll be gone much longer."

With this as his cue to leave, Eric stood, clearing his throat.

"Dawn is soon. He should be back."

By now the crowd in the club was thinning. Though Sookie nodded, she noticed something different about the vampire... He looked vaguely human. She wondered if she should've stayed asleep.

Pam returned from the entrance and pulled her boss away, but not before she cast a sneer in the two humans' direction.


	9. Frenzy

Dig this crazy mood I'm in,  
listen to my heart as it starts to spin.  
Whish, when you kiss me, and do it again,  
I'm in a Frenzy!

Watch my eyes, when you light them up,  
Bling!  
Listen to me whine, like a harpsichord.  
When you touch me I warm right up,  
I'm in a Frenzy!

~Screamin' Jaw Hawkins

. . .

"Sookie, if this bothers you that much, we can return the car tonight."

Lillian and Sookie were just pulling into Bill's long gravel drive, and Sookie was still uncertain about the car they had stolen. Hot-wired. With every intention of bringing it back, of course—so Lillian said.

"We didn't have a choice, Sook." They would have been stuck back at _Fangtasia_ all day had Lilly not done something. And they needed a place to sleep since they've been up all night.

Thankfully, when Bill's house loomed up before them, Jason's truck was seen parked out in front of it. Hoyt's was gone, the man and his mother having left hours ago. Thus, the two women left their borrowed car in its spot and hurried inside.

"Oh, thank God!" Jason praised when he saw them. "I thought you were goin' to come back last night. The phones are still not workin' here, so I couldn't call you or anythin'. And there ain't nothin' to eat in this damn house. Where's Bill?"

"Still at the queen's," Sookie told him as she anxiously put her purse down. "But Lilly's friend Bobby called and I think we already got a solution."

"We do?" Jason lit up at the news. "Who's the queen?"

"The vampire queen of Louisiana, but it doesn't matter. I already texted Bill when we were drivin'. Lilly, tell him the idea."

Lillian nodded, a smile on her face.

"I don't know why didn't realize it before, but my friend reminded me that the Maenad is just like many other deities. All of them have a link to their gods. If you find that link and destroy it…" She looked over at Sookie and grinned. "They become vulnerable."

"So we could kill her?" Jason asked hopefully. Lilly nodded.

"We just have to find the link to her god."

"Well, that's terrific then. Let's go kill the bitch!" The man was already on his way to the door, grabbing his coat on the way.

"Wait, Jason." Now Sookie suddenly became hesitant. "I want to wait until Bill comes back. We can't go alone, or empty handed."

That stopped her brother in his tracks and he turned around. "Right. Sh_iiiit_. We need guns, and ammo, and…knives."

"Jason," Lilly started, her eyebrow arched. "While I would normally agree with you, I don't think that's the case."

"What? Why? Of course it is." Jason looked over at his sister.

"Because we need to figure out what her link is and those people out there are your friends and family. You can't go shooting them. I think Sookie is right. We need to wait for Bill to return." Lilly's last works were said through a sigh.

"Jason, have you maybe heard from Tara?" Sookie asked her brother. "Or…Lafayette?"

"No, don't think so," said Jason. He felt kind of disappointed from the change of plans. "I thought they'd joined all them rest, dunno how they'd even be able to _not_ get sucked in."

Frowning, Sookie crossed her arms, holding her elbows. She went to sit in the living room, now worried more than ever. "I hope nothin' happens to them, that they get out alright when it's all over…"

"We'll get them _all_ out of there, Sookie." Lillian walked over to her friend and took one of her hands in both of hers. "It's my job to make sure I get them out. It's what I'm good at."

Sookie sniffed slightly but nodded. Jason then approached as well and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Don' worry, Sook, I'll help her. We'll both save 'em and then blast MaryAnn to Timbuktu." Winking and a bit too overconfident, Jason playfully elbowed Lilly in the arm. "I got some paramilitary trainin' while I was away."

"Oh." Lilly gave him an unsure but what she hoped was a confident smile. "That's…that's great, Jason. See, Sookie? We're all…set. Heh." The woman returned Jason's elbow with one of her own, only to have him grab her around the shoulders and pull her to his side.

"You think if I do good, you can recruit me into your team?"

"Jason, what they do is dangerous," Sookie warned. "They've been doin' it all their lives."

"I'm a man, or aren't I? After what I faced, I think I'm pretty qualified. Lilly?"

"Uh…" Lillian looked to Sookie briefly. "Let's just take things one step at a time, yeah?"

Maybe she could ship him off to Luke and Josh, long friends of the family. Hunters too, who would probably love the idea of apprenticing someone who was willing to learn the secrets of their dangerous trade! The sly, little thought made Lillian chuckle.

* * *

_After nightfall…_

"Bill!" Sookie rushed to her boyfriend and he embraced her for a moment, before gravely regarding the others with the news he had. Only they seemed far from dismayed.

"Did the queen tell you anything? Because, Bill, we think we already found a way to kill MaryAnn." Sookie looked back at Lilly and Jason, the latter of which raised a fist of determination.

"You found-" Bill was confused. "What did you find?"

"Well… When we were up in Shreveport-" began Lilly.

"Which you left, by the way, without telling anyone," Bill cut in, his words having a certain bite to them.

Lilly chose to simply ignore his interjection rather than acknowledge it. They had a plan and it was going to come to fruition.

"I got a call from a friend of mine. Turns out he did have some information on a possible way to get rid of her."

"And that would be?"

With a smile, Lillian continued. "We need to destroy her link to her god. Once we do that, she's vulnerable. In particular to a golden blade dipped in a lamb's blood."

Bill stared at her in surprise. "How do you know this?"

"My friend is pretty much a librarian. With a gun, or several guns, rather." Lilly smirked. "All we have to do is find her link, destroy it, and find a golden blade meanwhile."

"Awesome, finally we're gettin' outta here!" Jason marched past Bill and Sookie to open the door, only to stop before he opened it. "Wait, Lil, how're we gonna find the blade?"

Sookie anxiously looked up at Bill. "Do you have any golden blades? Like from the war or somethin'?"

"Gold was not exactly something we used as a weapon during the war," Bill told Sookie as kindly as he could. "Other means were used."

"I don't have any," Lillian added with a frown. "Steel, silver, and iron are the only blades that I have."

Jason lifted his hands into the air and let them slap down against his sides in agitation. "So what, we just gotta go rob a museum or somethin'?"

"Does Bon Temps even have any museums?" Lilly asked.

"There's the old town museum," Sookie offered uncertainly. "It has our town's history in it, but I don't know if there'd be any gold blades there either. We're not exactly rich…"

"Shit!" swore Jason, beginning to pace. "Gold, gold… Who the hell do we know doesn't live in our town and is rich? And might have old stuff?"

"Does it absolutely need to be gold, Lilly?" Sookie said.

Lillian nodded. "A lot of the sacrificial blades, or blades that dealt with the gods in general were very commonly made of gold in ancient times. It was thought that it made the blade special and the wielder stronger abilities."

Bill sighed. "There _is_ someone who might be able to help us." The vampire appeared positively miserable at whatever idea had surfaced in his head.

"Who?" Sookie asked.

"If he does not throw us out when he sees us again, then…Eric." Bill grimaced distastefully.

"You can't be serious," Lillian said in dismissal. When Bill's face didn't relax, her eyes widened. "Do you realize that Eric seems like the type of guy that would find a once-a-year visit an annoyance, let alone the third visit in two days?"

"Wait… You mean that tall vampire with that one look?" asked Jason stupidly.

"One look?" Lilly looked confused.

"Yeah, you know the one." He immediately tried to imitate Eric's expression. "The one that looks like he's tryin' to kill you with his eyes."

"That would be the one," Bill acknowledged.

"Aw, shit."

"Okay, well, if we don't have a choice, let's go. We don't have much time." Sookie decided to lead the way and opened the door. She wanted her friends back, her town restored to normal, and the evil Maenad dead. If that meant to face a moody Eric, then so be it.

"Shouldn't we warn him…or something?" Lillian asked as she followed the others out the door.

"Don't be scared, I'll look out for ya, Lil," Jason told her with a grin, and threw an arm around her shoulders to lead her out to the car.

Lillian sighed. "This will not go well…"

* * *

"You've got to be fuckin' kidding me. Back _again_?"

Pam looked like she was going to blow, but Eric, on the other hand, didn't. When he saw the hunter, their eyes met for a moment. He took a seat in his carved, wooden Viking chair on the stage, surprisingly calmer than how he was before. Sookie and Bill were slightly shocked (though perhaps also relieved), and Jason tried hard not to look at those pale eyes of Eric's.

"You better have not come to waste my time," he warned Bill impassively. "Did the queen tell you anything? Does she know of this Maenad creature?"

"She does," Bill replied, "but she was unable to provide us with any useful information that we did not already know."

Though Jason had proclaimed rather adamantly the whole way there that he was reformed and accepted vampires as people, Lillian couldn't help but mask a small smirk as she watched the way he looked at Eric and the other vampires. Jason kept turning his head to the side to make it seem as though he wasn't paying attention to them. Very nervously.

Annoyance flickered across the Sheriff's face almost immediately, his eyes narrowed.

"Pam, see them back out."

Smirking darkly, Pam stepped forward. Then Sookie quickly interrupted.

"Wait, Eric, we do have something but it didn't come from the queen." The waitress quickly looked at Lilly.

"It came from a friend of mine," Lilly said. "We have a way we believe we can kill the maenad."

"But your assistance is needed in part of this plan," Bill told Eric.

Lilly gave Bill a brief glance before continuing. "We can sever her tie to her god, and by doing so, she's made vulnerable."

"Yeah, and then we can kill her!" said Jason with a grin as he punched his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"Mm." Eric still looked displeased and wholly loath. "And yet you couldn't have found this out sooner?"

"Unfortunately no," Lilly replied, not taking her eyes from him. "Something is up with calls that try to come in and out of Bon Temps. The only reason I managed to get this call was because I'd been here at the time."

"But that is beside the point," Bill said briskly. He wasn't sure how long Eric's patience would run since it seemed like it was already thin. "In order to kill the maenad, we need a golden blade. I thought you might have something we could use."

"And sheep's blood," Jason added.

"Lamb's blood," Lilly corrected. "But I'm pretty sure we can find that on our own. The blade, however…" The hunter tilted her head ever-so-slightly as she kept watching him. "Do you know of where we might find one?"

Eric pursed his lips and purposefully took a long moment to consider this. It sounded ridiculous quite frankly. But Lillian seemed confident in her rather superstitious method and her persistence was unwavering, to the point that it made him faintly smirk.

"Perhaps. Are you sure that your solution will succeed in getting rid of her?"

"Well, I can promise that if it doesn't, you may not have to ever bother with us again," she told him with a grin.

Bill stepped slightly in front of Lillian. "It will work," he said quickly. "We have no other choice."

"No, I suppose you don't," Eric conceded finally, letting out a sigh. He raised himself out of his chair and fixed his gray suit, eyes returning to Lillian for an instant. "Though it would be unfortunate if the hunter is wrong… Pam, I'm going to take them out back. Keep an eye on the Stackhouses?"

Sookie's face fell when she realized she couldn't go. Bill silently assured her everything would be fine, and Jason instantly stepped beside his sister. Knowing that she had little choice and that she wouldn't pass it up if she did, Lillian followed Bill and Eric to the back.

"Lovely," commented Pam, her hands on her hips. "Babysitting."

Eric led Bill and the hunter through a long hall and further into Fangtasia, to a wing of the building neither of his guests even knew existed. They reached a door that was obscured by heavy, large bookshelves and rather tacky red curtains. Beyond the door was what appeared to be a basement, but before ascending down the stairs, Eric made sure to give a pointed glare.

"Only Pam and I allowed down here, so you will keep quiet and tell no one that I took you here. Is that understood?" Yet it wasn't a question and Bill and Lilly had no choice but to nod in compliance.

Had Bill not been with her, there might have been a small voice in the back of Lilly's head wondering if she was ever going to get out again. When she saw a second door at the end of hallway from the stairs, any trepidation disappeared behind a wave of curiosity. What would the Sheriff hide away from the world? Bill, on the other hand, tried to hide his suspicion and followed his Sheriff carefully.

The door contained a heavy-duty lock, which Eric swiftly began unlocking. When he finished, turning on the lights, Bill and Lillian could only gape through the threshold in awe.

The room Eric kept hidden housed all of his most prized possessions—artifacts, relics and treasures any antique collector or museum would simply drool over. They were priceless collections that without a doubt took all his thousand years to accumulate, and the vampire prized their worth. Scandinavian, Byzantine, Roman, Asian, South American and even African—his travels had taken him all over the globe and allowed him to steal parts of history for himself.

Most of everything stood protected in glass shelving and Bill and Lillian were careful not to touch. Eric strode to the back to what looked like a case and fished out a set of keys from his pocket.

"This is very valuable to me and I expect it to be returned in the same condition that you received it." He glanced back at them out of the corner of his eye. "Are we clear on that?"

"Yes," said Bill. Even he struggled with holding in his awe of the place.

Lillian, on the other hand, wasn't so sure.

"Eric…" she started, ignoring Bill's quick look that he cast her way. Though the Sheriff blocked her view of whatever he was taking out, she knew that it had to have been one of his most cherished possessions.

The knife was indeed gold, but it was rather a small sword than a dagger. It dated back to what seemed further than a thousand years, perhaps even sharing its master's origin. Eric gently held it out to Lillian. Although he appeared to trust her more than Bill, there was the expected glint of warning in his eye.

"This is what you need, isn't it?"

Though her hand came out slowly to take the knife, her hand hovered over it instead. It was old. The fact of the matter was that she couldn't one hundred percent guarantee its safety, while…on the flip side, she needed it to save her partner.

Lilly started to withdraw her hand. "Eric, I don't know if we can take that…"

Bill stared between her and the knife. "What are you talking about? We must."

With a nod, Lillian finally, carefully took the blade from Eric's hands. She found the artifact surprisingly heavy. "It won't leave my sight or side."

Though Bill thought it was partly Eric's responsibility to help them, Bill had to admit that he was rather shocked at how easy it had been. "Thank you, Eric."

The Sheriff reminded once again: "You will both be held accountable if it's damaged in any way. Let's hope we don't come to that, for your own sake."

The three returned upstairs to the club, Lillian holding a cotton wrapped bundle, which she had tucked protectively against her side.

"Did you get it?" Jason asked quickly, taking a couple of steps towards her. "Can I see it?" he said. He reached for it, but she immediately stepped out of his grasp.

"This is worth more than my life and then some, Jason," she told him seriously. "Let's treat it like such, hm?" She smiled as she spoke her last words to take away the sting, watched the Stackhouse nod absently.

"Yeah, sure. Of course."

Sookie tucked her arm around Bill's and let out a shaky breath, glancing at the clock, which already read half-past midnight.

"So now all we need is some animal blood and then we…go and kill her."

"There's a butcher's several blocks away. Tell them you know me." But that was all the additional help Eric was going to give. He stood beside a scowling Pam and waited for them to leave.

* * *

"I must say, I am surprised that Eric was so quick to help us," commented Bill. They had just arrived in Bon Temps after getting the lamb's blood and were on their way to Sookie's house. They prayed they weren't too late.

"Yeah, me too," agreed Sookie. "Normally he'd be much more stingy. I actually expected him to kick us out back there. I wonder what's gotten into him…" The waitress's gaze darted to the rearview, glancing at Lillian briefly. But honestly Sookie didn't know what to think.

Bill had known Eric for a very long time and never had he seen the Sheriff act as such.

"We still don't know what her link is," Bill reminded as he drove.

"I'm assuming it won't be that hard to find," Lilly voiced as she looked out the window. She was incredibly mindful of the piece of history that she clutched in her lap.

"Maybe it's a skull or a…a…dried hand or somethin'," Jason offered with an excited grin.

Sookie looked back at him. "Egh, why would it be a dried hand, Jason?"

"I dunno. This bitch is supposed to be crazy, so who knows what to expect. Righ'?" The boy turned to Lillian beside him. "She might be like those voodoo freaks. They got all sorts of weirdo shit."

Bill glanced back at him through his rear view mirror, one brow raised in skepticism.

They were getting close and Lillian felt her stomach starting to bubble in anticipation.

"My guess is that it's not a dried hand or a skull. It'll be something found in a place of honor in the house. A place she can protect and also worship, like a shrine."

"When we get there, you will listen to me. All of you," Bill started. He wanted to set the rules for them to follow. "Sookie, you will look after yourself."

Though she swallowed, Sookie curtly nodded, steeling herself. "I will."

"Don' worry, Bill, I'll be there," Jason swore, despite feeling his own anxiety already start to creep down his neck. "I'll watch over Sookie. And Lilly, too."

Lillian just smirked. Then suddenly she leaned forward, grabbing onto the front seat. "Wait, Bill, stop. We have to go back to _Merlotte's_."

"Lillian, we are nearly to Sookie's home," Bill told her calmly and wondered if the mighty hunter was getting cold feet.

"Because my car is there, and it has something we could desperately use. Trust me on this one."

Bill looked back at her and sighed before turning the car around. "I hope this is important. Every minute matters."

* * *

Bill, Sookie and Jason all gasped in shock when Lillian opened the trunk of her beaten Camaro, but it was Jason whose jaw dropped furthest. There under the bed was a compartment that housed a full arsenal and luckily nothing had been discovered or stolen when the hooligans came around to trashing the poor car. There were shotguns, knives, stakes and pistols and enough ammo to supply a militia as small as their own.

Squealing with stars in his eyes, Sookie's brother immediately reached for one of the guns and studied it in his hands.

"I'll be damned. Yer like G.I Joe or somethin', Lilly! Er, G.I. Jane!"

Lillian didn't pause from his praise and started filling an old green duffle bag.

"It helps to be prepared," she told him with a laugh. "Now you know I'm not lying about the hunter thing. Then again I could be a complete psycho… Of course many," she paused to shut the bed of the car, "would consider that one of the same." The woman smiled at the others. "There's plenty for all of us in here. Ready?" She looked over at Jason, who held a sawed-off shotgun and grinned. "That gun has a lot of history, Jason. Careful with it. Let's go."

"And you were surprised when the others in Dallas didn't like hunters," Bill whispered to Sookie. All of them hurried back to his car. Lillian just kept on surprising them.

* * *

By tugging and pulling, Sam had managed to rub his hand raw. The chains were just wrapped too tightly around it.

MaryAnn had long ago returned inside the house, humming as she went. Still outside, he had watched as she praised Marylin for the wonderful job of decorating the most disgusting and ugly sculpture he'd ever seen, before the hunter sauntered away as well. With time running short, Sam knew that this was his only chance. If he didn't get away now, his life would quite literally be over.

Gritting his teeth, Sam pulled with all of his strength, felt the metal cut into the already tender sores. Blood began to trickle down his fingers. With one last miraculous pull, his hand came free.

The man almost wept, it felt so good to have one of his hands in front him. He was so close. Quickly and using the foreboding feeling that hung over him, Sam worked to free the rest of him, while no one was watching.

Or so he thought.

Even before he heard her voice, Sam sensed her appear behind him. She stepped out of the shadows of the nearby trees.

"Sam… What that's you're doing?"

Marylin's black eyes narrowed and she managed to successfully freeze him dead still.

"You're not trying to run away, are you? Because that would be a _very_ bad idea." She slowly stepped around him. "We'd just find you again and chain you right back up."

"I—I wasn't trying to get away, Marylin," Sam quickly promised. "I was just trying to readjust myself." The man demonstrated what he meant by leaning forward, and then back, to resettle himself again the pole. "See? Still here."

A slow grin slid its way across the woman's face. She didn't buy it. Approaching, she grabbed the arm he was hiding and wrenched it up with jerk he actually yelped from. She eyed the bruises and tilted her head.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire… Oh, you know, actually I could suggest that to MaryAnn."

Sam's face snapped up to look at her. "What? You could suggest _what_?"

They were already going to get his heart cut out, what more could they want?

"Never mind. I don't think she's planning for a barbeque." Next Marylin grabbed a hold of his collar and slammed him back. His back arched from the pain. She kept him against the pole, holding him still.

"Did you really think you could run away from us, Sam?" she asked him seriously. "Did you?"

Though he had long ago given up trying to reach her, Sam still couldn't stop the small feeling of regret for letting her get tangled up in all of this. It was his fault. All of it.

"I can keep running and never stop." His pulse hammered loud in his ears.

"But you'll get tired eventually, won't you? Your knees will give out and you won't be able to move. You'll be a lying on the ground for MaryAnn to find you, and you _know_ she'll find you wherever you go, Sammy…"

The man glared at her.

"Who says I have to run? Get over yourself, Marylin. You can keep comin' and I'll just keep on runnin'." Though MaryAnn would always come after him, he had hidden from her for this long. He knew he could do it again.

Out of a sudden burst of anger, the hunter's fist slammed into his chin, effectively loosening a tooth inside his mouth, or maybe two.

"Is that so? I don't see you running anywhere now," she spat.

Pain radiated up through his jaw and at the back of his head.

"Jesus…" Sam spit string of blood out of his mouth. It landed in the dirt beside him. He closed his eyes in pain and leaned his head back against the pole.

"I'm sorry to inform you that _Jesus_ isn't there," said Marylin, and delivered another punch, this time to his stomach. "But soon the true god will come…and he will hear your screams. He will hear your pleads…"

She enjoyed another hit. Sam rolled with the punches as best as he could, but they were coming so fast that he was having trouble breathing.

"_That's enough, Marylin_."

MaryAnn stood behind the girl, smiling down at them both with a stern gaze.

"As much as I know the God-Who-Comes appreciates his meat tenderized, I also know he'd like his sacrifice breathing."

The shifter blinked up at MaryAnn, one eye clenched while he fought the throbbing. Marylin let him go and quickly stepped back, bowing her head to her mistress. MaryAnn was dressed in a fucking wedding dress!

"He was trying to escape. I caught him in the act and thought he could be rebuked for that."

MaryAnn lifted a hand to Marylin's head and stroked it down her hair.

"And you did well. You did very well, but let us go get ready. The time has come! It's almost time to start!"

Dread pooled in Sam's stomach, sickening, frightening dread, and he watched the two women trot off back to the house. Through the windows he already saw the other minions milling about and preparing.

* * *

"I know this might sound like kind of a stupid question…" Jason whispered.

They crouched near the house, watching the people through the windows.

"But how exactly do we get inside there and find this thing? I mean…there's a lot of people in there."

Bill's eyes were riveted on the house. "I will make a distraction. You will go inside and find the link. Destroy it, and then we will destroy her."

"What are you planning on doing for a distraction?" Lillian asked quietly. She had the knife tucked at the small of her back where it would be protected, a vial of lamb's blood in her pocket.

"You will see," the vampire replied confidently.

Sookie looked at him nervously and touched his arm. She pulled him to her before he decided to leave. "Be careful, Bill… I don' want anythin' happening to you."

"Promise me you will not do anything stupid," Bill commanded of her. Sookie nodded and kissed him.

Lillian was already off crawling through the bushes. She had a job to do, and if they wanted to sit there and suck face, fine. She wasn't wasting another minute.

Bill pressed his lips together in a fine line as he watched the hunter. Then he stood and hurriedly left too.

"MaryAnn!" he called out. He didn't break a stride until he stopped before the statue, glaring up at the house.

Jason hurried after Lillian, and Sookie was forced to go after them, stifling her whimper of fear for her boyfriend. When they crawled out of the bushes, they ran around the back and passed a now-empty pole where Sam used to be. Apparently everyone was moving elsewhere. They marched to the woods beyond the territory, chanted their same chant in alarming unison. The way to the back door was clear and the three made a beeline towards it. Fortunately it was unlocked.

Both Stackhouses were startled to find their house a complete mess and redecorated entirely by MaryAnn—it was as if the Outside moved _in_. The walls caked and stained with dirt, and the floors and furniture as well, vegetation strewn everywhere. Not to mention the horrible smell that was throughout.

"Jason…" whispered Sookie. She felt her eyes water.

Her brother clenched his jaw and lifted his gun. "That bitch is goin' ta hell."

"And we'll be the ones to send her there," Lillian whispered in promise. "But first, let's find her link." The girl readjusted her 9mm, finding her palm to be sweating slightly. "Did Bill really get them to completely clear out?" It didn't seem right. Surely, not all of them would have left…

But as the three of them stepped into the old country kitchen and then the foyer, they realized that that _did_ seem to be the truth. No one was there.

Jason looked around the candle-lit house and thought aloud:

"Fuckin' weird…" He neither heard nor saw any signs of people. Motioning Sookie to keep close, he went a little ahead of Lillian. "Shit… Look at what they did to all of Gran's stuff."

Sookie shook her head. "Bastards."

Lillian could only imagine what they were going through. She never had the one home she knew destroyed.

"What's out of place to you? Anything that jumps out at you?" The woman stepped out of the foyer and into the family room, ignoring the destruction that had occurred. They didn't have time to dwell on it.

"Uh… Besides the shit everywhere?" said Jason.

Sookie crept towards the stairs, seeing all of their photographs broken on the steps. Ones of her and Jason, another of her, Tara and Gran.

"Maybe it's upstairs?" Going around it, she slowly started going up.

"Sookie, let's cover one floor at a time," Lillian suggested. "This is the main floor, so let's start here." She turned and headed back into the kitchen to start searching the cupboards, while Jason snuck further into the living room and waved his sister over.

"Sook, come 'ere. Don' go too far."

"I won't, Jason. I'll just go look in the dinin' room."

Leaving the broken photos alone, Sookie quietly went back down the steps and into the opposite room of the hall. Only when she stepped through and saw the sight inside, the girl gagged and had to cover her nose.

The dining room table, which had been in the family for years and held dear memories as far as Sookie could remember, now displayed a very gruesome array of meats and organs that were in different stages of rot. Clearly this had been the source of the smell… Upon closer inspection, Sookie saw the maggots that already made residence.

Whatever tribute this was supposed to be, no one ever came to receive it.

"This…this just is _awful_," Sookie said. She felt angry tears in her eyes, for the china cabinet hadn't been forgotten either. Her Gran's dishes were strewn without care, broken with little left to salvage. "I g-gotta go show Jason this. Jason—!"

But when she spun, she came face-to-face with someone who stood in the doorway. A plump, smarmy-looking man, who Sookie realized, to her dread, had probably been there the entire time.

He grinned wolfishly, eyes as black as coal.

"What? You don' wanna join the feast?" He lunged and she screamed.

When the scream reached Lillian, she spun and sprinted through the wreckage towards the dining room. She beat Jason there by only a second.

"Sookie, what's—"

"Yer all just in time!" The voice came from behind them, stepping in from the hall.

Jason spun around to see two people step out from the shadows. Big smiles were on their faces. Tara and her boyfriend Eggs were possessed, too.

Lillian, on the other hand, had the barrel of her gun trained on the man who now clutched Sookie against him.

"Come on now…just let her go," she tried to coax. The man just laughed.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus—" the hunter started.

While the bug-eyed three screeched and shuddered from the rite, Sookie managed to shove herself away and hid behind Jason.

Then unexpectedly, they heard a gunshot that made Lilly stop altogether. They turned in its direction. They saw Marylin stroll into view. In her hand was a loaded semiautomatic.

"Lilly? Took you long enough." Her gaze was the deadliest of the four. "I was beginning to think you abandoned me… I thought the vampires drained you dry."

Lillian was shaken.

"Mar…what have they done to you?" She was too shocked to move. Surely her best friend, her sister, was just playing along to hide in plain sight, but those eyes… "Why would they drain me dry?"

"Why wouldn't they? Those bloodsucking apes." Marylin scowled hatefully, gun aimed at her and the Stackhouses.

"You don't even know them!" yelled Sookie.

"Don't start with me, little girl. Tara, Eggs, take them," she ordered the other two. They nodded obediently. Tara rounded on Lilly, while Eggs tried to grab Jason. The boy swung his shotgun at him.

"Son of a bitch—"

The other man quickly seized Sookie from behind again. He wrapped his beefy arms around her.

"Hey, take your fuckin' hands off her—!" But with Eggs' fist slamming into his nose, Jason saw stars.

Lillian was too busy watching Tara to see Jason get hit.

"Marylin, stop this now. Would you snap out of it?"

Tara ran at Lilly then, but she was almost too easy to take care of. When Tara came at her, Lillian ducked out of her way and stuck her foot out. She didn't bother watching as Tara crashed down, face-planting into the floor.

"Drop your gun," Marylin shouted. "Drop it or I'll be giving you a third eye."

As if their friendship never even existed, she was completely ready to take Lillian out.

"Okay, okay, you've won, Mar, just calm down."

Lillian made a dramatic show of slowly lowering her gun down to her side. It was then ripped out of her hand. Tara grinned up at her as she scampered back.

Jason blearily started to climb to his feet and Eggs grabbed him by the arms and pulled him the rest of the way up. Sookie finally gave up struggling against her own smarmy captor.

Marylin gestured for the group to go ahead of her and said: "Now onto the ceremony!"

Chuckling evilly with Eggs, Tara shoved the barrel of the gun into Lilly's back and led the way out the door. Across the yard and to the forest, through which they already heard and saw the ritual commence. Naked dancers and musician ran around the fire, and there nearby stood the podium, where Sam Merlotte was awaiting his death. And behind him was the bull mask.

"Sam!" Jason called as soon as they were close enough. Eggs smacked him upside the back of his head.

The man on the podium swung his head around to see them, a frown marring his features.

"Sookie…" With dread on his face, he shook his head.

Lillian watched as, in the distance, Bill took a step towards them only to have MaryAnn step in his way.

"You're finally here! Now the party can really begin!" the devil woman laughed. She lifted her hands into the air and began to sway.

As her minions pushed the captured three to her feet, MaryAnn began to cast her spell. Marylin joined her mistress at her side and waited for them so succumb like she had. But before the witch could succeed, someone flew at her from behind and shoved back Marylin along the way.

Sookie gasped, seeing who it was. "Bill!"

With Marylin out of his way, Bill charged at MaryAnn and wrenched her neck to the side. Snarling, he plunged his fangs into her neck.

But no sooner had he done so than he already pulled back. Black blood dribbling from his mouth, he fell to his knees. Whatever MaryAnn had inside her body, a substitute for blood, it was absolutely disgusting. Like Draino. Pain wracking his body, Bill was forced to empty the contents of his stomach onto the grass.

MaryAnn only laughed at the vampire's plight. She shook her head and stroked one hand lovingly over her horned mask.

"How did that taste, vampire?" she mocked.

"That's it…" whispered Lillian in shock, on her knees, between Sookie and Jason. "It's the bull mask!"

"Fuck." Jason looked around and wondered how they'd get it from her, surrounded as they were, with Tara and Eggs right behind. Sookie watched a sick Bill squirm and choke on the ground, but she couldn't go to him. Oh, her poor man!

The gun was still pressed into Lillian's back. Knowing it was her only choice, the woman spun her arm around. She caught the dazed Tara by surprise. The move knocked the gun away from her, allowed the hunter to twist and bring her arm down over Tara's. This effectively arrested her movement. With a simple rough turn of the possessed's wrist, Lillian grabbed back the gun. Then, without blinking an eye, she spun and lifted it and shot MaryAnn in the stomach.

The Maenad stopped her swaying at once and slowly looked downward with sprouting curiosity.

As soon as the shot had gone off, Eggs had released Jason and dove at the hunter. Lillian was carried to the ground with him. Laughter erupted from MaryAnn's mouth. It sounded so startling, like way the tar bubbled out of the pits in L.A.

"Oh, my dear girl, you will _join_ your friend."

She appeared to float as she moved towards her and Eggs, never taking her eyes off of Lillian. The Maenad cocked her head to the side.

"Would you like that, Marylin? Like to have your little friend with you?"

"Hmm…" Marylin seemed to consider a long moment, regarding at Lillian, who was held still from behind. Eggs chuckled huskily in her ear.

"No," Marylin decided. "She'll be a lot more difficult. You should just do away with her. Maybe Sookie, too."

Sookie screamed, "NO!" Bill was still powerless to go to her. Sookie fought against the bloke who still held her, kicking and screaming. "Get off me—! Go to hell, you evil, evil _bitch_!"

"If you're sure, Marylin," MaryAnn said with feigned regret. She stepped towards Lillian.

And then piercing sound suddenly started to rattle around her head. The hunter's mouth fell open. She could hear nothing except a high frequency buzz, no drone, which seemed to literally _rip_ through her. Her brain, at least. And then it spread through her nerves. Had it not been for Eggs who still held her, laughing at her misery, Lilly easily would have fallen to her knees.

Whatever this was. This force MaryAnn sent through her, it was supposed to induce a stroke. Or something like it. And then it would be the end.

A trickle of blood dripped from Lilly's nose. It followed the curve of her mouth and dripped onto her teeth. She cried out but could hear nothing. Then blood began to accumulate in her ears and it seeped down her neck. She convulsed. Her neck stiffened. She looked up blearily at the dark sky, the stars blurring.

"_Hey, cow bitch_!"

MaryAnn spun at the name. The fury on her face actually changed to fear when she saw him.

Jason stood on the podium beside Sam. One hand grasped the horn of her beloved mask. After raising it in the air high above his head, Stackhouse brought it crashing down onto the chopping block.

The ancient wood shattered into a million pieces.

The Maenad's ensuing scream rang across the entire field and even shook the trees. The scream ricocheted through the night air, stunned every creature within the radius. In an instant, those possessed were released from her control but were left entirely alarmed and confused. Taking her chance, Sookie finally made a dash for Bill and cradled him in her arms. He continued to retch the disgusting blood from his system. Sookie herself felt sick from the sight.

Everyone else watched MaryAnn erupt in sheer hysterics. Not planning to let Jason go so easily, she shot him a livid glare and trudged her way to the podium.

"_You_—Jason Stackhouse, you will pay for what you have done!"

Lilly saw her opportunity. With shaking hands, the hunter reached beneath her shirt and took out the golden blade. With the other hand, she removed a vial of lamb's blood from her pocket. Everything about her was trembling. When the blood fully coated the knife, she surged to her feet and lunged at MaryAnn. She tried to drive it through her unprotected back.

But even in her red haze, MaryAnn knew Lillian was coming and spun at the last second. She backhanded Lillian across the cheek with such force, Lilly was knocked backwards onto the ground. The knife fell from her hand and uselessly landed in the dirt.

"Stackhouse, I willcut out your heart and _eat it myself_!" screeched the maenad.

She turned back to him with hands that transformed into claws right before his eyes. Jason could only holler—he tried to run. She grabbed him from behind.

Pale with horror, he watched as she lifted a wickedly sharp claw. She looked far more monstrous than ever. But before she aimed for his throat, there behind her in the night sky, Jason saw a shadow…

It moved fast. Straight at them. And in a split instant, it tore MaryAnn away from Jason.

Eric threw her to the ground. His eyes darted to his blade, which Marylin now had in her hands. Knowing exactly what she had to do despite remembering nothing, she ran at the beast, the dagger outstretched—

The knife pierced straight through the Maenad's chest and her expression froze with terror.

When Lillian stood, she wiped blood from her mouth and then her nose. Her head spun, her face throbbed. Sniffling, she tried to staunch the flow coming from her nose. And then eyes fell on the Sheriff. Thoughts vibrated through her. Never had she expected that he would come. Before she could help it, her gaze _softened_. Regardless of what she had expected, he came to help. He really did.

As the hunter watched him, movement caught her eye. She saw Marylin.

"Mar…" Lilly whispered, and she didn't know whether to go to her or keep her distance.

Marylin had no idea what happened the past several days (none of the town did), but she had a terrible feeling that she had done something awful. With the way her friend was looking at her, cautious, hurt—it was clear. And when she turned to Sam, as Jason helped him off the podium, Marylin noticed the distrust from them as well. They narrowed their eyes.

Eric looked at her hand, which limply held his bloodied knife, and then he glanced pointedly at Lillian. But Lilly wasn't looking at him this time.

When she saw the confusion spread across Marylin's face, Lilly slowly went to her. She smiled, choking on a dry sob and, when she was close enough, she threw her arms around her friend in a bear hug. Lilly couldn't help herself. Marylin felt her eyes water. Post-possession came as a shock to anyone. She shakily held onto Lilly.

"You're a real bitch, you know that?" Lilly laughed.

As she took a moment to simply let it sink in, that Marylin was truly okay, Lilly let one of her arms slowly move down to her friend's side. Lilly gently slid the blade away and tucked it back into its spot at the small of her back. Taking a step back, she wiped blood from her nose again. Eric's fangs slipped out as he silently observed. Blood always did that to vampires.

"You may need a new shirt," Lilly told Marylin, gesturing to the blood drop spots on her shoulder. But Marylin shook her head and chuckled slightly, not caring.

"I-I don't know what happened," she began to explain. "I…I've never been possessed like that. I can't remember anything."

And neither could the rest of the town—they ran from the field, red-faced from shame and embarrassment while they tried to find their clothes. MaryAnn's corpse slowly deflated, oozed into the ground.

Helping him walk, Sookie and Bill limped over to them and were just as surprised to see Eric there, too. The Sheriff glowered as if he'd had to force himself to come to their rescue.

"Eric," Bill said, voicing his shock. "We did not expect you to come."

After giving Marylin a brief smile of encouragement, Lillian turned to Eric finally. She removed the blade from its place at her back and wiped it clean with the soft cotton of her t-shirt, handling it with a gentle reverence.

Jason finally managed to free Sam from his chains and both men came down off the podium. The former found the silence quite uncomfortable.

Lilly walked to Eric and held his treasure out to him. "Thank you."

He took it and gave it a quick inspection. After finding that no harm had come to it, the man simply nodded with an utterly unreadable expression. Then he tore his eyes off the hunter, leaving her partially befuddled. He turned to Bill and Sookie, as if finally noticing their presence.

Lillian went back to her partner.

"Come on, let's clean up." Tenderly, she put a hand on Marylin's arm, squeezing it gently before letting go. "You're not going to like what happened to the Camaro…"

"I should've known I'd have to come to the rescue." Eric sighed and saw Bill's state, lifting an eyebrow. "Did she give you a beat down?"

"I… may have tried to bite her," Bill grudgingly admitted, his eyes glancing down at Sookie briefly. However, the feeling of condemnation was ruined when Jason suddenly exclaimed and started waving his hand in front of his face.

"Fooo, Sam, you _smell_! Damn man, what've you been eatin'?"

Sam just shook his head and briefly met Marylin's eyes when she glanced at him. The woman followed Lilly away, clearly still wrought with guilt.

"There will be quite a mess to clean up in the morning," Eric told them. "Unfortunately some of them may need to be glamoured."

"Actually," said Jason, scratching the back of his head. "I don' think they remembered much. Look, they've all run off. And some…even left their clothes."

"Well, in that case," Eric fixed his coat, seemingly relieved. "I'll gladly leave you to the cleaning." With the hunters already gone, disappeared through the trees, the Sheriff looked up at the sky and took off.

Bill, Sookie, Sam and Jason watched him disappear from sight.

"He just wanted his knife back," Bill grumbled. Then he started with Sookie and the rest back through the woods. "You and your friends will come to my home and stay there for the night. I do not think your home is quite ready for you, Sookie."

"Hell! I think we're gonna have to remodel the whole thing now," said Jason. Sookie frowned and held closer to Bill, remembering everything that had been destroyed. Though their townsfolk had been possessed, that didn't stop the resentment from arising in her.

"They trashed everythin'… All of Grans' things, broken, gone. It's gonna take months, Jason."

"We'll fix everythin', Sook. I'll take care of it, okay?" Jason promised her. Bill released his girlfriend so that she could go to her brother, and watched a little uncomfortably before glancing beyond the trees.

"Dawn will soon be here," he broke in gently.

Sookie saw that he was right and then looked to her own house. "You go on ahead, Bill. We'll be there in a bit. Maybe…we'll find something salvageable."

"Sookie," Bill started, but Jason lifted a hand to stall him.

"It'll be okay. I've got her. I won't let nothin' happen to her."

With the soon-to-be-arriving sun, Bill had no choice. The vampire went to Sookie and kissed her tenderly. "I will see you on the next rising." In the next instant that took the waitress to blink, Bill was gone.

Sam walked over to her and Jason. "Sookie, I—I can't thank you enough…for you comin' after me like this."

"Sam, you got nothin' to thank me for," Sookie said. "I couldnt let anythin' happen to my friends, not when a witch like that was messin' with them. I'm so sorry that we weren't here when she took you. You should come and stay with us."

The shifter shook his head, a slightly bashful-looking smile on his face.

"Thanks, but I think I really just want to get home right now." Sam gave them one more smile and then turned to follow the others back through the trees.

"Come on, let's go check it out," Jason said.

Brother led sister back to their family's house.


	10. Heart Full of Soul

_Sick at heart and lonely,_

_deep in dark despair._

_Thinking one thought only_

_where is she tell me where.  
And if she says to you  
she don't love me  
just give her my message  
tell her of my plea_

~The Yardbirds

. . .

. . .

"God, the frame's a pretzel now, the tires are slashed, the seats, oh, the leather…" Marylin could barely contain herself as she walked around their poor car. She felt such hurt that it was akin to someone dying. "It'll need a new windshield… N-new everything."

Marylin covered her mouth and clenched her jaw, not just angry at the people of Bon Temps, but at herself. If she had been more careful, if she hadn't been so stupid…

"How—how could I let this _happen_?"

"It happens, Mar," Lilly commented as she knelt in the passenger seat and reached into the back for a bag. Shattered glass fell off the top as she moved it, but it seemed intact. "Uncle Dean and Uncle Sam always used to trash their Impala. We'll fix her and she'll be fine."

The truth was, though, that Lillian felt the sting of their beloved car's injuries just as much as Marylin did. But it was Marylin who wore her emotions on her sleeve. Slumping on the curb, she hung her head and angrily ran her hands through her hair, scoffing.

"Now we're going to be stuck here."

"Only for a couple of days," Lillian replied, dropped her bag down on the curb, and took a seat as well. "Besides… Maybe it's a good thing we have to. To make sure everything goes smoothly."

Marylin looked at her incredulously. "You think this is going to take only a couple of days? Lillian, this is going to take _weeks_—to find someone to help us, to wait for the parts to come in. No one even knows where this place is!"

"Okay, so maybe it'll take a little longer than a couple days, but that's not horrible, right? Maybe we need a little vacation after what just happened." The blonde shrugged and leaned back against her bag. "I mean, my head is still ringing."

Her partner felt even more horrible after that. "Lil, I'm sorry. I don't remember what I did, but I know I did something bad…and I'm just so sorry. MaryAnn lured me in, sh-she took my charm."

Lillian wasn't about to let her friend wallow and turned to face her, saying: "Hey. I'm here and I'm sitting beside you. We're both fine and the Camaro will be as well at some point. Okay? We've still got each other."

"_It's not your fault, you know…"_

Both girls spun around to see Sam standing behind them, his hands in the pockets of his clean jeans. "Marylin, you worked hard to keep me out of her hands."

Marylin swallowed as she heard him but instead stared across the lot. "But I let her get you anyway—and everyone else was dragged into it in the process."

Though Lillian sighed, Sam apparently didn't give in that easily. "It's not your fault. If anyone is at fault…it's me."

"Why did she want you?" Lillian inquired, looking at him with a raised brow.

"She's been following me," he admitted ashamedly. "Ever since I was a kid. I brought her here and _I_ let her make this mess, Marylin, not you."

Now she looked back at him and stood. "How did you manage to attract a Maenad in the first place?"

The man swallowed and licked his lips as he looked away to try to get a slightly stronger footing beneath him. "I was…_stupid_," he confessed while he thought back. "I broke into her house and…took a couple things."

"You stole from a Maenad?" Lillian asked, kind of surprised, and Sam shot her a look, tossing his hands in the air.

"It's not like I knew what she was at the time, but…it was like she caught my scent from that."

"I wish you'd gotten some help before it came to this," said Marylin, yet she couldn't scold him because she hadn't been smart either. "But I didn't know what she was either. How did you know how to kill her?" she asked Lillian.

Lilly climbed to her feet and took her bag with her. "When I was up at _Fangtasia_, Bobby managed to get through to me. We figured it out, found what we needed, and came after you."

"You went back to _Fangtasia_?"

"Yeah," Lilly replied, not seeing what the problem was. "We needed information and at one point, a place to stay." Suddenly, the zipper on her bag became intriguing and she found herself focusing on it.

"With the vampires? Why the hell did you have to stay with them?" Marylin searched at her friend's neck for any possible bite marks.

"Bill left us there at one point, and I couldn't leave Sookie alone. Eric was fine and none of the other vampires even remotely tried to do anything," Lilly explained.

Marylin crossed her arms, but that still didn't relax her. "Mm. So that's why they were there last night… Well, I hope after that we won't have to deal with them again." She glanced at Sam briefly.

"It's a good idea to stay away from 'em," Sam agreed, and Lillian had to resist the urge to shoot him both a look and a smart remark.

"They were there because without them, we wouldn't have been able to beat her," she pointed out, feeling some annoyance rise. "Without Eric, we all would have died."

"Eric?" repeated Marylin, but then she vaguely remembered the blade Lilly had returned—Marylin didn't exactly know what to say.

"Yes, he was the one that I gave the blade to, which, by the way, enabled us to kill the Maenad." Lilly couldn't stop the grin from surfacing on her face.

Sam watched the two women and shook his head, before turning and heading towards the front door of his restaurant. From the looks of it, he was no longer needed.

"Stay away from them, Lillian," he called. "They'll stab you in the back. You can't trust them."

Marylin couldn't agree more.

...

The destruction that carried into _Merlotte's_ was horrendous. Business would have to stall for at least a two months. Marylin remembered her last moments, before MaryAnn possessed her, but she hadn't realize that her minions would return and wreck absolutely everything in their wake. Nearly all of the windows were shattered, the tables and chairs, and the bar had been trashed, all the liquor wasted—the damage was nothing compared to the Camaro, and now Mar felt like she acted petulantly before.

Who knew if Sam even had the money to fix the entire place… And no one came to help him. The woman found the poor man in the kitchen, where everything was overturned. He was cleaning, though the room was a long way from returning to its original state.

Marylin slowly approached—she wasn't going to abandon him like the others did. "Sam...? Do you want some help?"

Being elbow deep in all of the smells, Sam hadn't realized that Marylin had been standing there. His double take was brief, but he stood up after a moment, brushing his hands clean on his now-dirty jeans.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," he told her with a weary grin. "You hungry? They didn't really get to the fridge, so everything in there is good." He grabbed a grubby looking dishrag and tucked the corner of it into his pants pocket.

"No, I'm fine, but thank you," Marylin said as she smiled weakly. "I just…I just thought I'd come and help you. Lilly's gone, she went to check on Sookie, and you're cleaning up all by yourself."

The man looked at her as though debating and then nodded. "Well, if you wouldn't mind grabbing all the dishes that are intact and… starting on those, that would help."

They'd have to wash every single thing.

"Yeah, no problem." The woman went to the cupboards, next to which the plates were haphazardly lying. Unfortunately most were unsalvageable, shattered or simply broken in half, littered across the counters and floor.

Marylin shook her head. "Did they manage to get into everything?"

"Seems like it," Sam replied with a very light scoff. "It'll just take a little time, and then it'll be back up and running." There was a part of Sam that wondered if he even wanted to get it going again—maybe it was just time to move on and _this_ was a sign.

"How long are you two stickin' around?"

Marylin frowned, sighing heavily. "Until we fix our car. They got to it, too. It'll probably take a while to get the parts we need in."

The stomped tomatoes and other assorted vegetables had finally yielded to Sam's furtive scrubbing and now the man stood to his feet with a small grimace as he went to the sink to clean his rag.

"I saw that. You know, I'm not a mechanic…" Sam ran the rag under the faucet, not aware that he was crowding her space. "But I might be able to help out, if you want it."

"Oh?" Marylin looked at him and was slightly surprised. "That would be nice, but are you sure? Even after what happened?"

"Marylin." Sam turned to face her briefly, the faucet pouring water into the sink, bubbling over his hands. "What happened wasn't _you_." The man smiled gently and returned to washing his rag. "Someone else was there. Of course I want to help you."

"It might've not been me, but it was a mistake I made, letting myself get caught, letting you and Andy get caught." The woman's guilt resurfaced on her face, as she tried to concentrate on her task, throwing away the broken dishes. "I know that I probably did some very bad things," she said, "which I won't be able to forgive myself for."

"You don't even know what they were," Sam said with an incredulous laugh. "And _I_ was the one that let myself get caught, Marylin. I'm a grown man. It was my choice. Stop takin' it all on yourself. It's not all you." Grabbing the trashcan, he turned and started walking along the counter, pushing in broken dishes and debris as he went. "Seriously, Mar, it's not your fault."

"It was my _job_, Sam." The hunter turned round to face him.

"And look at my job," he said with a shrug. "It's because of me." Shaking his head, he looked at her, tired of playing the blame game. "Why don't we just agree to disagree? We're not going to, so might as well not argue." Calmly, he watched her. "What's your favorite food?"

"Did I give you those bruises on your face?" Marylin asked quietly, for he had purple nose and cheek. "I did, didn't I?"

Immediately, Sam went away from her, going back to his cleaning. He was starting to get annoyed. "I said forget about it, Marylin, okay? Just drop it. I'm fine."

But the hunter wouldn't let it go, now suffused with failure. "Sam, what else did I do? Did I hurt anyone else? I need to know." Had she _killed_ anyone? "Please."

"It was just me," he told her honestly. "You just went after me." Sam sighed. She jsut wouldn't give up until he told her everything. "It really was just me, Marylin, but you should know that I did hear Sookie say you threatened to shoot Lilly in the head."

"Oh God…" Marylin stared at the ground. And Lilly forgave her for that? "Did I try to shoot you, too?"

"No," he said with a half-hearted chuckle. "No, you did, uh-" now Sam turned a little bashful. "You did kiss me though."

Mar's eyes went wide and she flushed. "I w-what?"

Seeing her shock, he immediately lifted his hands to try and reassure her. "N-no, no it wasn't bad, I mean, it was just… It's okay. It didn't mean anything."

Now he'd done it.

The woman spun back to the job he'd given her and quickly resumed it, shaking her head, her face bright red. "S-shit, I'm so sorry. I can't—I can't believe it." She beat him up and then molested him?

Though he rarely felt it, part of Sam's manly pride felt a little bruised at that. She seemed horrified. He wasn't _that_ bad of a kisser, even though it was she who had led the kissing. And neither was he gross, he thought. Quietly, Sam turned back to his task as well, letting the silence take over.

This had turned out _really_ well.

...

_The Stackhouse Residence…_

"It's gonna take months to get everythin' cleaned up in town. Me and Jason started on our house, but the smell hasn't even cleared out yet. It's like it soaked into everythin'. All that rottin' meat." Sookie shuddered. "Gran's table is ruined... We'll need to start paintin' over everythin' else."

She and Lilly got out of her car, as Jason came out of the house to greet them. A dopey smile on his face, he tossed the trash bag he held into the growing pile on the lawn and wiped his hands on his pants.

"Lilly, we thought you were gonna leave. You doin' okay after las' night?"

The hunter smiled and shook her head in the negative. "Actually, we're going to be stickin' around for a little while." She idly looked over their yard. "Our car is trashed. It's going to take a lot of work to get it all taken care of. Classic cars are kind of in our blood. We can't let it suffer."

Jason winced. "Shit. Yeah, it was real nice, of what I'd seen of it at least. So that just means, uh…you're gonna stay longer in Bon Temps then?"

Sookie sighed, and to get his mind out of the gutter, decided to scold him. "Did you get rid of all that meat, Jason?" She nearly threw up when she tried to do it herself.

Jason was watching Lilly nod, even though she wasn't looking at him, but when Sookie had poked him in the side, he snapped his eyes over to her, idly scratching his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, it's gone, Sook. Took it out back and pitched it in forest." They'd be getting plenty of raccoons going after it, but at least they wouldn't have to deal with it anymore.

"We're going to be here at least a week, probably two," Lillian admitted to her friend with a shrug. "Or at least sticking around Bon Temps."

"We're gonna need _so_ much help," said Sookie as they started into the house. "We could use any that we could get."

"You know I'll help anyway I ca-" Lillian started and stopped with a smirk as she was interrupted.

"Speakin' of help," Jason grinned crookedly at Lilly, stepping over to her. "You're gonna need a mechanic. You found one yet? 'Cause, uh, I know where you could get one."

"Do you? We're definitely going to need one. I'm pretty good at jerry-rigging to get it to where it needs to go if it breaks down, but when you get into full repair…I'm out of my league." The girl glanced over at Sookie and winked discreetly—Lilly knew Jason's type.

The boy straightened, puffing out his chest, and threw his arm around the hunter.

"Well, good, 'cause you came to the right guy. I'll let you know…" he leaned at her real close and lowered his voice, "I'm the best mechanic in this whole town. Every lady comes to me for help."

"Jason, don't you start that with her!" Sookie reproached. The girl went to get another trash bag and looked at Lilly. "Lilly, you're better off askin' Jack down at the auto shop. Don't bother with Jason. Trust me."

"Oh, sorry, Jason, if Sookie doesn't go for you…" Lilly slipped out of his arm, feeling a little better after such a stressful couple of days, "then it looks like I'll have to talk to Jack. Thanks for the offer, though." With a grin, she followed Sookie to get a bag for herself.

"B-but I'll do it for free!" Jason said to her. "You don' need to pay me at all. Really!"

"He's just so ridiculous sometimes," Sookie whispered, embarrassed by her brother. "I'm so sorry, Lilly. Jason, here's a bag. Let's get back to cleanin'. We still have a lot to do."

Though he glowered unhappily, Jason snatched the trash bag out of his sister's hands and marched past.

...

She had paused beside the big, green dumpster, as though taking a moment to enjoy the break of constant drudgery that came with washing dishes for hours on end. The trash bag she held bulged out on the sides, stress tears forming in the thin plastic from both the weight and broken dishes.

As she lingered there, her dark hair illuminated by the soft, yellow glow of the lamplight, he watched her. The man knew that he should have stepped out right away, but he couldn't help himself—instead, he gazed her a long moment, trying to judge her state.

Finally though, when the pained expression on her face forced him to act, the man stepped out of the shadows.

"_Marylin_."

Gasping, the woman nearly jumped and dropped the bag. Somehow it managed not to explode on her. When she turned and saw the man, she wondered a moment if he was a hallucination—he was the last person on earth she thought she'd see.

"_Scott_? What are you doing here?"

"Bobby called me," Scott explained, stepping further into the light so she could see him a little more clearly. He was scruffier than she remembered. He'd always had light facial hair, but now it was slightly longer, as though he only cut it and shaved when he remembered to and not on his daily regimen.

Scott once hunted with them.

"He said you and Lil needed help."

"He did? Well, we're done here. It's over now. We don't need any help." As if still bitter from their last meeting a year go (yes, a year), Marylin quickly schooled her surprise and roughly chucked the trash bag away.

He didn't bother to hide his grimace and sighed as he stepped toward her.

"Marylin… Mar," he said quietly, reaching out to touch her back. But she turned out of his reach and stepped back from him, keeping her distance.

If he wanted forgiveness, he wasn't going to get it—Marylin was still adamant on that and hoped he didn't assume otherwise.

"You…decided to come here all this way? After, what, 10 months?"

"Almost 12." Scott let his hand drop back down, a frown etched across his face. "Bobby said it was bad and I wasn't that far. I know you can take care of yourself, Mar, but…Lilly's still green. I couldn't let anything happen to you two."

"Well, nothing did," she replied tartly, lying. "We're fine, so don't worry. I'm watching her. We took care of everything here."

An odd smirk crossed his face. "I'm sure you did." There was something different in the way he looked at her and carried himself, and she noticed with suspicious glare. There was a glint in his eye she didn't remember.

"So you'll be getting back on the road?"

"After we fix the Camaro, yes." Marylin glanced briefly at her car, wondering why he didn't notice it. "We're also helping clean up here. These people need all the help they can get."

"I didn't realize hunters cleaned up as well as did the job," he replied slightly sarcastically as he finally looked over at the Camaro, but his gaze didn't linger long. "I'll help you both get it fixed up." He wanted them back on the road. Even with the Maenad gone…Bon Temps was a strange place and one he wasn't completely comfortable with.

"Where's Lillian?"

"She's out helping someone else, and I'm busy too actually, so I have to get back." Not carrying to say goodbye, Marylin made to go back into the restaurant.

"Marylin," Scott started, taking a stride towards her. He stopped when he realized that he wasn't the only one that called her name.

Sam had stepped out the back door, naturally worried that she hadn't come back in yet. When he saw Scott, he immediately bristled, and the hunter sneered.

"Who's he?" Sam asked quickly.

"Someone who was just planning to leave," Marylin answered curtly, and passed Scott to go inside. "Goodbye, Scott," she called without looking back. "Lilly and I can fix our car ourselves. We're fine without your help."

The man glared at Marylin before looking at Sam, where his gaze only got steelier. "Do you know where Lillian King is?" he asked Merlotte, who arched a brow and narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"I don't know if you need to know that, friend," Sam replied cautiously.

Marylin stopped in the doorway and turned back to say: "Call her if you need to, Scott, but don't try to come back into her life again." She watched coldly as his expression faltered. "Nor mine. That's the last thing we need right now."

Scott watched her without anymore words of protest, shocked into silence. Sam observed him very carefully as he turned back to the door. Merlotte too noticed the off thing about the stranger, but it was from senses Marylin didn't possess.

"Might be a good idea for you to carry on through, _Scott_," he suggested, and then he too stepped inside and disappeared.

With a disgruntled snort, Scott turned and started heading down the road, away from _Merlotte's_, while Marylin said nothing and went to resume cleaning.

She grabbed a new trash bag and refused show her face, which now flooded with old emotions she long suppressed until now. So infuriated, she had clenched her fists and pause a minute. Braced over the kitchen table, she stared at her reflection, gathering herself. She saw Sam slowly approach from behind.

"Hey…you okay?" he asked.

Marylin cleared her throat quickly and nodded. "Y-yeah. I'll be fine. Just give me a minute… Sorry that you had to meet him."

"Yeah… Take all the time you need," Sam said gently, concern in his eyes. Quietly, he turned around to continue his cleaning, though he couldn't keep himself from glancing back at her. But after a few moments, the woman seemed to regain her composure. She didn't say anything and neither did Sam, having enough tact not to pry.

...

"So, uh, you gonna stay at the motel?" Jason asked Lilly, hovering over her shoulder while she painted the walls in the hallway. Luckily Sookie was out of earshot in the kitchen, thus Jason took his chance before she scolded him again. He took a peek down the hunter's shirt while he invaded her space.

"'Cause…we're stayin' over at vampire Bill's place and there's loads of room. You and Marylin could always stay here. Hah, Bill's got like seven rooms an' he don't even use one of them."

Lillian didn't look back at him as he spoke, instead concentrating on keeping her strokes even.

"I'm not sure what the plan is, but I think we _should_ probably stay wherever you guys do." That was what Jason was after, but Marylin and she were always on the job. "Without a car, we're kinda stuck."

"Awesome! Well, not awesome for your car, but it's great that you can stay. Maybe while you're here you could, uh…teach me some of the things you did back there las' night, and, uh, I could show you some of the things I learned while I was away—"

He looked suddenly to the kitchen, where they heard his sister gasp and drop her mop—a man had walked through the door and startled Sookie. Quickly backing away, she froze.

"Can-can I help you?"

The paint roller was quickly tossed back into the tray as Lillian hopped over the pole and into the kitchen.

"Sookie, what's—_Scott_?" A look of shock registered on her face as she stared at the man. "What… How…"

"Bobby called me," he briskly explained, regarding the woman carefully before looking at the others. "He said you needed help."

"Well, you did miss the excitement. We're done now." Lillian's expression turned tender, but she didn't approach him yet.

"That was a helluva fight," Jason laughed and slapped his fist into his palm. "Shit, we took that bitch down. Man, you shoulda seen her!" But Sookie didn't share his enthusiasm, instead glancing to Lilly for an introduction.

Finally noticing her hesitation, Lillian quickly apologized. "This is Scott," she said, "my brother."

"It's nice to meet you," Scott forced a small smile, holding out his hand to shake hers. _What has she gotten herself into?_ he thought, never letting it show on his face.

While Sookie let herself pry a bit, she now relaxed. "I'm Sookie Stackhouse." Jason grabbed Scott's hand next and shook it vigorously, awe in his eyes.

"Jason Stackhouse—Sookie's brother, hah. 'S an honor to meet you. What you guys do… Damn, I don' think there's anythin' more honorable," he chuckled awkwardly. "Lilly helped saved our town."

Scott had nearly taken a step back at Jason's eagerness, but finding that it was in adoration, Scott accepted the praise admirably. "I'm glad you think so. Not that many people share that thought."

With the mention of his sister, he then looked over at her and grinned. He wasn't one to praise, but there was a glint of affection in his eyes that could not be mistaken.

"Scott practically raised me," Lilly told Sookie, watching the two men.

"Oh. So he's a hunter, too," Sookie said, even though it was obvious enough. Except then, the girl suddenly frowned as she realized why Scott was probably there. "Are you two goin' to leave together?"

Lillian said, "No," just as Scott said, "Yes." The siblings looked at each other and that tender expression that had been on Lilly's face disappeared at once.

"I've told them I'm going to stay and help them, Scott. The Camaro isn't fixed yet, anyway."

"Lilly, we're leaving. Marylin has decided that she's staying, so _she_ can help them." The man watched his sister warily. "But _you're_ going to come back home with me. You don't need to be out here."

His sister took step back, shaking her head. "I'm not going anywhere, Scott. Marylin and I are partners and I've already promised these people."

Something odd flared in Scott's eyes at her disobedience. A weird sort of anger. Sookie noticed his thoughts were different. But how…she couldn't explain.

Jason raised his hands to intervene.

"Whoa, whoa, why does she hav'ta go so soon? She ain't in any danger here. S'all over. The bitch's been killed. I could even show you where she…melted into the ground, f'you want," the boy thumbed in the direction of the woods.

"I'm sorry, Jason, but you don't understand. Hunters don't stay in one spot for too long. It's dangerous, and from what I hear," he looked back at his sister, "she's been flirting with danger since she stopped here."

"Scott! You're being ridiculous!" Lillian snapped at him.

"Why is it dangerous?" voiced Sookie, slight suspicion in her tone. "The danger's over and there's nothin' else here. If you're worried someone else will find out about her and Marylin, no one will. We won't tell. Everyone thinks they're from Wildlife Service, anyway."

"Everyone?" Scott repeated. "Including the vampires from Dallas?"

"How did you know about that?" Lillian asked in surprise. Scott just shook his head.

"You don't understand what it's like for hunters, Miss Stackhouse. More often than not, _they're_ the hunted."

Jason stupidly drew his brows together. "_Wha-_?"

"Lillian, I can't leave you here. It's my responsibility to take care of you."

"If you ever want to take care of me again, leave. Now. I'll call you later."

Scott looked at the three of them, momentarily calm in his confusion until anger outwardly suffused his face. Without looking back, he abruptly spun and left. The door _slammed_ behind him.

Lillian turned at the Stackhouses and sighed, lifting a hand to her forehead. "I'm so sorry…"

Sookie glanced back at the door, but Scott was already out of sight. Though he was Lilly's brother, Sookie just couldn't shake the feeling she had.

"He's usually not…like that," Lillian tried to explain, distressed from the encounter. "He usually listens a little more. I'm…I'm sorry you had to see that." Maybe he was drunk or something. Or perhaps he'd just become too emotional since they long stopped hunting together.

"S'okay," Jason said, and gave Lilly a rub on her back. "It ain't your fault your brother has a stick up his ass."

...

_Next day…_

"I just…can't believe he's here."

Lillian kicked a stray pop can out of her way as she and Marylin strolled down the still debris-ridden street. "He just appeared, Mar. Scared Sookie half to death when she turned around and saw him standing there."

Scott's random appearance the night before had rocked them both. It had been at least a year, yes a year (that long) since they had seen him and the others, and to randomly have him pop up had them both rethinking past decisions.

"Knowing him…" Marylin looked over her shoulder out of minor paranoia, to see if anyone was following, "he's still probably here. We should call Luke and Josh, see where they are. Maybe they can get him to leave. Unless Bobby told them what happened, too."

If this was Bobby's way of getting them all back together, the old man had another thing coming—Marylin was not going to let that happen. It had been long proven they couldn't work as a team. Five together.

Marylin scoffed incredulously. "What the hell was he thinking, telling Scott in the first place?"

Though Lillian was certainly angry and annoyed with her brother, she by no means had the dislike that Marylin seemed to have for him. But it wasn't always that way… He was Lilly's brother and always would be.

"Bobby's been trying to do that since before we left." Lilly shrugged and tucked her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "Sometimes I feel like if Scott just let himself loosen up a little bit, everything would be okay and could go back to how it should be."

"You think I've never thought of that?" Marylin asked as she looked at her. "We tried. I—_I_ tried. It's hopeless. He's never going to change. People stay the same, Lil."

The woman was silent. Though there was a part of Lillian that agreed, there was also a part of her that wanted her brother back, the one whom she loved. But a few years ago, he'd changed. Scott changed so much that it was like none of them really knew him anymore. His way or the highway. They chose the highway.

Marylin sighed and her voice grew quieter, part of her anger now deflated. "He saw me last night when I was helping Sam…. He offered to help us fix the Camaro, but I said we didn't need him."

"He _would_ be big help," Lillian admitted as she considered it. "And he'd do it for free unlike this Jack guy." The idea of letting someone they didn't know work on the Camaro didn't sit well with her stomach.

But Marylin didn't care—she wanted nothing to do with Scott, even if someone else was to touch her car.

"I have enough money to get it done," she said, striding quicker, for _Jack's Auto Shop_ was just ahead. "But if we don't, we'll always get more. We'll be fine."

"We'll get it done," Lilly agreed. She held the door to _Jack's_ open for Marylin and then stepped inside after her. Though Scott was on both of their minds, now it was time to take care of their beloved car.

...

_A little later…_

The only thing that was seen of Lilly was her legs, which stuck out of the trunk as she stretched as far as she could to get a wayward knife that had skittered out of her reach. They were cleaning out all of the Camaro's hidden caches of weapons so that when they delivered it to Jack the following day, he wouldn't find any hidden surprises.

"Mar, did you remember to get under the passenger seat?"

"Yeah, I did," said Marylin, though she went to double-check anyway. "There's nothing there. But I'll go check the glove compartment." She removed all of the fake IDs, the old research that was forgotten from months ago, the spare flask of holy water and sack of rock salt—the duffle-bag of their stuff was already overflowing.

"Did you get everything, Lil?"

"Just…about…" said the blonde, as she climbed out of the trunk, ducking her head to keep from hitting it on the lid. Walking over to the bag, she dropped the knife in. "I think that's just about it." Idly, she walked around their car, scanning all the places she knew their things to be, but it seemed like they had remembered it all.

_"Did you check the wheel wells_?"

It turned out Scott hadn't left town as they hoped. Rather he stood behind Marylin, looking them over, and made her jump.

"Christ, Scott!" Moving away from him, the woman scowled. "Yes, we checked them. We're done. Lillian, come on let's go." Marylin lifted the bag and heaved it over her shoulder. But it was so heavy, she stifled a groan.

"Have you forgotten how to use a phone, Scott?" Lillian asked him with an arched brow. "This whole 'sneak up on people' thing is getting old."

With a blank look on his face, Scott walked to Marylin's side and took the bag, easily hefting it onto his own shoulder and offering her a small grin.

"What are you doing?" she tersely said. "Give it back, I can take it."

"I just thought I'd help. You look tired," Scott replied, not giving the bag back to her. "Where are you two headed now?" Marylin shot Lilly a sharp look.

Seeing as how there was nothing she could do, though, Lilly just rolled her eyes and started walking down the street. "We need to drop our stuff at the motel."

"I'll walk you," Scott told them both. It wasn't an offer, which managed to infuriate Marylin even more. She swiftly rounded on him and searched his impassive face for an explanation. But he didn't look at her.

"Scott, I told you we didn't need your help. Why are you still here?"

Still, Scott's face remained unemotional as they made their way to the motel, which was conveniently near _Merlotte's_ beyond a patch of forest. "Because I'm not leaving until you two leave this town," he answered late.

Now it was Lilly's turn to start to get annoyed. "Scott, you're being ridiculous. We're not two little kids here."

"No, but you're my responsibility, so I'm staying."

"We're our own responsibility, Scott. We can take care of ourselves," Marylin argued. "You should've gotten that into your head by now. We're not going back with you!"

It was pointless trying to argue with her and so Scott simply didn't bother.

Lillian, fed up, stormed over to her brother, her hands clenched into fists. "Do you understand that you're not going to get her back by _acting like this_?" she hissed in a whisper. "This isn't going to work!"

At that, Scott literally snarled at his sister, making her jump back.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand yet, _Lillian_." Lillian stood there, gaping up at him along with Marylin, who was for a moment at a loss for words.

"S-Scott," she said, aghast. "What the hell has gotten into you?" It was like she had never even known him. Everything about him changed, inside and out.

Scott didn't answer—he glared at them both before turning and continuing towards the hotel. Slowly and deliberately, he took a breath, and as the girls watched, his shoulders visibly relaxed.

"Come on, girls. Sooner we get to the motel, the sooner we can eat."

Scoffing loudly with disbelief, Marylin glanced at Lilly and shook her head. "Incredible. Just incredible."

The motel was just ahead and when Lilly opened the door, she waited for Marylin to enter before she did.

"Mar," Scott started, looking at the woman as he started to step in after them. "We need to talk."

"Scott, don't start this," said Lilly and quickly stopped him in the doorway.

"Lilly—"

"No, Scott, she doesn't need this right now and neither do I."

Scott opened his mouth to reply, but the girl grabbed the bag from his hands.

"Scott, go away. We'll talk to you later." With a brief shove, Scott was out the door and Lilly quickly shut it, sighing and leaning back against it.

"Lock it." Marylin took the bag from her and tossed it onto a chair. "Lock it in case he comes back."

After doing as she asked, Lillian headed to the bed and sat down with a flop. "Something's wrong with him, Mar. This isn't right. He's never been this bad…"

But her partner didn't answer right away and stood facing away. She tried to allay herself. This time it didn't work. "I-I know, Lilly."

"Hey." Lilly sat up a little straighter and watched her carefully. "Marylin, I'm sure there's a reason for it. You know him… Maybe he just…misses you and he's making up for lost time."

"But I don't want him back!" Marylin realized her tone was sharper than intended. "He's just wasting his time. There's no point making up for it. My God, we've been over it so many times before, and he knows it."

Dismissing the subject, the woman marched to other side of the room where she began rummaging through her things. Lilly watched and wondered what to do.

"Maybe we need a night off," she offered quietly as the wheels in her head turned. "Maybe we just need to get out of this little town for a while. He's not going to leave."

Marylin looked at her, entirely hopeless. "Where would we go? There's nothing but swamp land around here."

"I don't know," Lilly said with a small shrug. "We could always go north… There's Shreveport."

"What would we find there?"

Casually, Lilly stood and headed over to the window to see if she could spot her brother. "What about _Fangtasia_? I think they've got good drink specials tonight."

"_Fangtasia_?" Marylin abruptly turned to her. "You want to go to _there_? Are you crazy?"

"Why would that mean I'm crazy?" Lilly asked, lifting an eyebrow as she glanced over at her, forcing herself to keep her cool.

"It's a vampire bar, Lillian," Marylin reminded.

"Yeah, and I spent a week with several of them. It's not all black and white, Mar," Lilly explained. "Besides, no one has bothered to thank Eric for saving us, which quite frankly is ridiculously rude."

"How is it rude? Didn't he leave?"

"He left after he'd kept us all from dying!" How could she not understand this? "Why are you fighting me on this? We should go!"

"No, we shouldn't! Just leave Bill or someone else to do it. We're done with those vampires." Marylin took a couple of bottles of toiletries and started to the bathroom, but not before fixing her friend with a stern look. "Lilly, forget them. _Please."_

But Lilly had had enough.

"No, you know what, forget _this_! I'm so sick and tired of people telling me what I should be doing. I'm a hunter and I trust my instincts, and my instincts are telling me that Eric deserves a thank you. I'll see you later."

Frustrated, she turned and left.

"Lilly, wait-!" But she was gone, the door slamming behind her—Marylin barely fought off her own burst of anger as she trudged into the bathroom.

...

It was late but he was still cleaning. Even though he seemed set on finishing as much as he could, boarding up the remaining broken windows, she could see that he was tired. Sweat soaked his shirt, lines of fatigue were etched across his face, and even his eyes looked bleary, blinking frequently to focus. It was a quarter past midnight, and Sam was in need of sleep, but he forced himself to fight it off. One more window and then he'd go. He was nearly done. He had to finish.

Marylin knocked lightly on the door and stepped inside, peeking through. With the additional help that came earlier that day, _Merlotte's_ was much tidier. The tables and chairs put back into place, the mess was gone. Now all that was needed was the replacement of some things. In a couple of weeks, she expected the restaurant to be slowly running again.

"Looks like you'll be back in business in no time."

"With any luck," replied Sam with a small smile before he set the piece of plywood that he had just cut to the right size in the window. "What are you doing there? Thought you'd be in asleep or something."

"Yeah… I was. I thought I'd be too, but Lillian's still not back yet." Marylin slowly walked around him to see his work, not letting her previous anger surface. "She went off to Shreveport, and then I decided to come and check my car again."

But that wasn't the whole truth.

"She went to Shreveport?" Sam repeated. He hopped down from the booth seat he had been standing on. "She hangin' out with the vampires now?"

"Oh, I don't know." The woman crossed her arms and exasperatedly shook her head. "I don't know what she's thinking. Ever since she came back from Dallas... It's not a big deal to her."

Sam sighed and brushed his hands together to rid them of the sawdust. "She's been talking to Sookie too much it sounds like, but she's a hunter. She should know better."

The man turned away from her and headed to the bar. "Want a drink?"

"Yeah." Marylin gladly accepted the offer and followed him, taking a seat. "So they didn't waste all the liquor then?"

She noted he'd saved a few bottles, or perhaps they had been in a secret stash somewhere. Regardless of where they had once been, Sam pulled out a couple and poured Marylin a drink, passing it across the bar when he was done mixing.

"Tequila Sunrise," he told her with a smile. "I always keep a few bottles back in a case in my office in case we run out, but there were a few stashed in the back that they hadn't gotten to."

Marylin cradled the glass in her hand, pausing a moment before taking a sip. "They didn't remember anything, did they?"

"Not in the least, but I had to send Arlene home after a little while. She just wouldn' stop crying."

"Memory loss does that to you." Marylin too felt like crying before but she managed not to. "Especially possession. I should just get a tattoo like Lilly, but I don't like the idea of someone needling on my skin."

"How does a tattoo help? Did you ever get your charm back?" It seemed that talking to Marylin had gotten easier with all they'd been through. She knew what he was, but at least at the moment she didn't seem to mind.

"No, but the tattoo would just be the same but on your skin."

The ice chest let out a puff of air as Sam opened the silver lid and pulled out a bottle of beer. He had turned it on full blast that morning in an attempt to chill its contents at a faster rate and now he could reap the benefits of it. Beer in hand, he walked around the bar and took a seat beside the woman, before spinning the top off and tossing it onto the counter.

"Why don't you tell me what's really wrong?"

Marylin smiled weakly and waved a hand. "Sam, you don't want to know," she said. "You've already got enough on your plate. I don't want to complain to you."

His hand had caught hers in the air and gently brought it down on the bar. His hand lingered on hers, gave a stroke or two with his thumb. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know. Besides, I'm a bartender, I know how to listen."

"Sam…" The woman hid her face, brows drawn, and gazed into her glass. The golden swirls lulled her mind for only a moment, before bringing it back to the surface.

Marylin sighed heavily. "We never stay in one place this long."

The man nodded and rested one arm along his bar, encouraging her to go on. He slowly let go of her hand. "So, you're feelin' a little cabin fever?"

"No, actually. But that's why the guy from last night came to find us…and I didn't want to see him. He was the last person either of us wanted to see."

"What's he done that's so bad?" Sam asked gently, though he had some ideas of his own.

"W-we, uh," Marylin began hesitantly. "We used to hunt together. Almost a year ago… We were a big group, too big in my opinion. We weren't meant to do it together. My cousins, Luke and Joshua were part of it too, but it was Scott who ruined it all in the end. He began to slowly ruin it from the start."

She took a big gulp of her drink, swallowing the horrible aftertaste of that memory. "Scott fucked it up. Domineering-" _bastard_ was muffled.

If the way she was expressing herself wasn't obvious enough, her words sealed the deal in Sam's mind. "You don't exactly lead a peaceful life." He watched her with soulful eyes. "So where are your cousins?"

"I don't know, somewhere west, I think. I haven't called them in a while. Last time I heard, they were hunting a Sasquatch somewhere in California." Marylin helped herself to another swig.

To have family that you knew of and not take advantage of it? Sam was at a loss as to that subject.

"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here s'long as you want. I'm sure Sookie could give you guys a room so you could get out of the motel." He smiled at her then. It was a small one but honest. "I'd let you stay at my place, but it's kinda small."

"It's okay, I'll be fine. I heard Sookie was staying at…Bill's though, and I think they invited us to stay there with them. Lilly can if she wants, but I'm not going to."

Sam reached forward and took her hand again as he stood. "Come on." She needed help, and he was going to try and give it to her. "Come with me." He tugged her to her feet and started leading her around the bar.

"What? Where?" Marylin had to leave her drink behind, only a couple more sips from finishing it. "Are you going to show me something?"

"Nope," was the only word he offered her as they reached the kitchen. While the others had been working away on the dining and bar area, Sam had spent the day setting the kitchen back to the way it should be.

"You just sit right there." He backed her up to where a backed barstool stood against the wall near the walk-in freezer.

"Sam," Marylin said, bemused. She wasn't in the mood for surprises. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doin'?" he asked her with a grin as he reached towards a peg on the wall and plucked an apron from it. "I'm makin' you dinner." Sam tied it around his waist but let the top half fold down over the bottom in front of him. "So what would you like? Anything you want, on the house."

The woman sat straighter at that, but Sam was perfectly serious. "But you're tired," she tried to convince him otherwise. "It's okay, Sam, I'm fine. I'm not going to hold you up."

"Do I have to be somewhere?"

"No… But you-"

"But?" he repeated, smiling. "I'll make something for myself too."

"Okay." Since she couldn't leave, Marylin remained on the chair and watched him dart around the kitchen, collecting pans and spatulas and other things that he needed. Then Sam disappeared into the food store and got an armful of bread, cheese, eggs and a few veggies, before settling in front of the counter.

"What are you going to make?" she asked once curiosity got her.

"You like omelets, right?" Sam inquired over his shoulder as he cracked a couple of eggs and poured them into a heated pan. They immediately started to sizzle.

"Yeah, sure," she said, and then stood to go to him. "Do you want some help?"

Sam smiled. Cooking would help.

"You want to cut some red and green peppers?" He gestured with his spatula towards the cutting board. Marylin grabbed a couple of the vegetables, rinsed them, and then took a knife. When she had cut the peppers the size he approved, she carefully slid them over the omelet and they settled, letting out an aroma that made her smirk and stir her hunger.

"Anything else?"

"Anything you want. We could probably throw in some of those green onions. The tomatoes are perfect. Picked them up earlier from the market." Sam added a thin layer of grated cheese.

Nodding, Marylin took both of those two things and started cutting them, wincing slightly at the onion and its juices. When she was done, she sniffed and handed the vegetables to the chef.

"Do you work back here sometimes?" she said, chuckling and wiping her eyes.

Happy to see her smiling, Sam shook his head. "Eh… I'm not really the bakin' type." With the ingredients all in the skillet, he flipped the omelet closed. "Almost done…" He grated more cheese on top and waited for it to melt before flipping it out on a plate. "Hope you're hungry."

Marylin followed him to the table but didn't sit just yet. "Are you going to eat?"

"Yeah, I couldn't let you eat this all yourself." With the plate set on the table, he went back to the waitress stand and grabbed a couple of knives and forks. "You want anything to drink?"

"I'll just go grab my glass." There was still some left, and Marylin wanted to finish it. She quickly returned to find Sam got out a bottle of coke, as well as already started on the omelet, a mischievous look about his face.

She took the seat across from him, inquiring with a smirk: "Do you do this often? Have midnight meals?"

"More often than you'd think," Sam said before taking a bite. "It's nice, you know? No one is around… It's actually quiet in here."

Marylin nodded, thoughtful for a moment, and then glanced up. "I didn't know you were a night owl."

"The nights got just as many marvels as the daytime. Have you ever just walked through the woods at night?" Sam took a drink from his coke to clear his palate. "With no huntin'?"

"I…guess. When I was little, my dad used to take me outside when it was dark, without flashlights, and he'd try to get me to not be scared of it that way. He'd hold my hand, of course, but it took a while for the fear to go away. My mother didn't like his method, though…"

Sam watched her as she spoke about her father, finding it interesting. He'd seen the picture of the man when they had looked through her journal, but she hadn't mentioned him again until now.

Finding the omelet delicious, she decided to praise the chef. "This is really good, by the way. You should cook more often."

"Nah, it gets too hectic around here. I'll hop back there if I have to, but really, I just don't have time."

"I don't really cook…" Marylin admitted somewhat bashfully to him, after finishing her drink. "Lilly and I, we just eat on the road. In fact, I don't remember the last time we've had a home-cooked meal."

"Is this considered home-cooked?" he asked her with a grin. They had just about polished off the omelet now, but rather than eat the last couple of bits, he leaned forward over the table, resting his weight on his elbows. The woman reached with her fork and stole the rest from the plate.

"Yes. Anything that's not from a gas station quickie-mart. Lilly isn't too picky, but you never know how old that hotdog is." Marylin made a face and chuckled.

"Why don't you come for a walk with me?" he asked unexpectedly, smiling. He gazed at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "From the sounds of it, s'been too long since you last had one."

"Oh." Now she managed to slightly blush. "But it's late, and you're tired. You worked a lot today." Indeed, the clock said it was almost one.

But Sam just shrugged away her concerns. "That doesn' matter. Might be just what I need." As he stood up, he took her hand to once again tug her to her feet. "If you want, I'll even hold yer hand so you don't get scared."

"That's okay, I think I'll be okay," Marylin said, smirking and taking her hand back. They went to the back door and stepped outside, where the crescent moon was out, glowing brightly, flanked by stars that glittered all around, mostly bright blue but a couple orange here and there. There was a nice breeze, but it wasn't too chilly. It carried a comforting boggy smell that for once Mar didn't find revolting.

The hunter gazed up at the night and paused to admire. "I didn't know Bon Temps had such a clear sky."

"Yep," Sam replied, nodding. "We're far enough from Shreveport that the lights don' bother us down here." It really was a beautiful sight. Normally he spent it alone, but not this night.

They began to stroll towards the woods, where there appeared to be a path that wound around the property. It was quiet, peaceful, and Marylin realized she now felt a lot calmer than before. Sam had really managed to brighten her mood. There was a good heart inside him, she found, and she shouldn't have over-judged before.

"Thanks…for cheering me up," she said softly. "I appreciate it."

"It's my pleasure," he replied. "Couldn't leave you like that. You just gotta take one day at a time. That's all you can do."

"Yes, you do." Marylin grew pensive then, idly listening to the crickets and distant frogs. She thought about Lilly and hoped that nothing happened to her, that she didn't do anything stupid.

"Have you heard from your friend?" Sam asked, not knowing that she had been thinking about the same person. "'Cause if she went up to Shreveport by herself…"

The hunter took out her phone, but there weren't any missed calls or texts. "If she doesn't come back tonight, then I'm going to go after her."

"Might be a good idea," he agreed. "If you need help, you let me know. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Sammy."

No one called him _that_ before.

...

"_No_."

"Any other night, Pam, I would say okay and turn around." Lillian glared wearily at the vampire. "But, honestly, I need a drink, and I just paid eighty-six bucks for a cab to take me up here. I'm not going somewhere else."

Hadn't she put up with enough crap that day?

Pam cocked her head, raising a perfect eyebrow, and scowled disdainfully. "Listen, girly, everyone is expectin' you and the other one to be gone by now. And since our business deal is long done, I'm not findin' any reason why I shouldn't just tell 'em all who you really are."

"You want to do that, Pam?" Lilly asked, watched her without a glint of fear in her eye. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last thing your boss probably wants is a political scene, am I right? What do you think will happen when you wave that little flag inside?" The hunter shook her head and sighed. "I have no energy to fight with you right now, Pam. None whatsoever. Can I take a rain check and play this game later?"

When Pam heard people complaining, she quickly pushed Lilly out of the way to let several others through. "You're holdin' up the line."

The vampire knew her threat was empty but now tried to ignore the girl. Maybe if Pam ignored her long enough, the hunter just leave.

"Forget this! I tried extending the damn olive branch. Way to torch it! Here I was going to say that I owed your boss, but I guess if he ever needs a hunter, he can blame you for not having one at his beck and call."

Everyone in this damn world had their heads up their asses!

The hunter started to turn away, but rather than completely leaving, she then spun round so that she was on the opposite side of an entering vampire. With a couple of quick steps, she snuck past Pam and into the club.

The bouncer was too late to stop her but also was too lazy to drag her back in. Growling, Pam instead let her anger out a poor Goth kid and booted him out. Hopefully Eric would deal with the hunter.

Lillian glanced back Pam briefly before straightening her shirt and looking around the place. It looked almost exactly the same as the last time she'd been there. The battle won, the victor now wanted only one thing: A drink.

Casually, the blonde sidled up beside the bar and smiled as Ginger recognized her. "Hi, Ginger."

"Oh, h-hi there," stuttered the waitress. "You're…back again?"

"Is it so horrible?" Lilly asked with a mock grimace, tried to put her at ease. "For once I'm here by choice, but what I really want is a margarita. Top shelf, if you don't mind."

Ginger's eyes darted around and found that she was alone. But then the waitress grinned apprehensively and nodded.

"Okay, sure thing." She quickly set about making the order—there was no harm.

"Where are your friends?"

"My friends," Lilly repeated as she lifted a finger to play with a dew spot on the bar. "I just felt like coming out for a breath of fresh air. Sometimes the easiest way to do that is without friends."

"Oh, okay. I think I know whachu mean…" Mixing the margarita, Ginger leaned in to whisper, while making sure no one was listening. "Did you come to talk to Eric?"

"No, no. Well, before I leave, yes, but not immediately. It's really not that big of a deal." Lillian eyed the drink and wished she wouldn't have made Ginger feel so comfortable. Now she was asking questions Lilly didn't want to answer.

With slightly nervous hands, Ginger gave Lilly her drink and stayed in whispering distance.

"Th-the reason I'm askin' is…it's just, uh," neither Pam nor her boss appeared to be in sight, "they talked 'bout you a couple times. After the other night… I jus' thought somethin' was wrong, and then you show up again now, and-"

"Wait, what?" Lilly leaned in closer to her as well, now tensing. Perhaps this was a bad idea? "What was said, Ginger?"

"I-I-I don't know. Nothin'. Nev-nevermind." Now paranoid, the waitress turned away to make it seem like nothing was going on. If Eric or Pam heard her, they'd have her neck…and Ginger wanted a break, for her previous bite marks needed healing.

"I didn' hear anythin'!"

"Ginger," Lillian's voice was gentle, and though the server's back was to her, Lilly smiled. "I'm not going to say anything. I just need to know if it would be a good idea for me to leave. Honestly, I wouldn't want to do anything here that would cause trouble for you."

"I—I…" Ginger glanced back at the hunter. "S'not me, s'you, honey. I'm kinda worried about you." The woman looked around again and slowly turned back. "Okay, it's just that the other night, they were fightin'…an' though I didn't hear much, I realized they were talkin' about you…an' some knife or somethin', I think. Anyway, Pam was all mad. They don't fight a lot, but when they do, s'usually about somethin' serious…"

"I see."

Lillian took her drink, enjoying a long pull before placing it down on the bar. "Well, I didn't come here to start trouble. I came to try and ease some, but… well that doesn't seem like the wisest of ideas now."

The hunter reached into her back pocket and pulled out a ten, placing it on the bar. "Thanks for the heads up, Ginger. Take care of yourself." She should have known that coming would have made more trouble for him than it was worth.

But as she turned to go, Lilly stopped and realized she couldn't leave. They spoke of the devil and he appeared—right there, _staring_ at her.

Having left his office, Eric was just as shocked to see the hunter as Pam. As he started striding towards Lillian, she couldn't tell if he was going to kick her out or let her stay. Not wanting her own tail caught, Ginger quickly shot the girl a pitying frown and scurried away—Lilly was on her own now.

"I thought you'd be gone," said the vampire.

"So did we, but we're stuck in Bon Temps," she replied, watched him carefully. "They trashed our car and it's going to take a little while to fix."

All they needed now was a friendly Pam to cheer on her getting her head ripped off and they'd be all set. If she were to believe what Ginger had said, Lilly shouldn't have come.

But to her relief, Eric showed no hostility.

"You've come alone this time," he observed.

"I've come to say thank you, Eric," Lilly told him, not bothering to beat around the bush. "Whether you were there to look after your property or to help, it doesn't matter. The truth was you saved all of us back there, and I wanted to say thank you."

He didn't need to know about her vampaphobic partner, especially since it was probably obvious why Marylin wasn't there.

"Oh?" Eric's brow crept up. The man smirked as he studied her—she was nervous, strangely so, though for what reason? "Well, there's no need. It was my duty. And Bill already spoke to me briefly the other day."

"Oh…"

That took the wind out of her sails, sbut Lillian smiled regardless. Reaching back towards the bar, she took another sip of her drink and held it in her hands, her eyes drifting away from him and towards his patrons.

"I guess there was no need to darken your doorstep then."

"Was there anything else you wanted to speak to me about?" he inquired, his smirk now widening increasingly. Ginger paled from where she watched them and wondered if he planned to have Lilly for dinner. Eric gestured casually in the direction of the club's back hallway.

"If you'd like, we could step into my office?"

The hunter noted his smile and had one on her face as well.

"The plan had originally entailed getting a drink and thanking you. And it seems I've done both, so why would we need to step into your office?"

Eric glanced up briefly as, right on cue, the music changed to something that was a little rougher on the ears.

"It would be easier to speak there. There'd be no need to raise our voices. While the festivities here will now be reaching their peak."

Seeing that he was in fact right, Lilly glanced around as the crowd seemed to get rowdier, and nodded. "Lead the way."

The vampire motioned ahead for her and they slipped away unnoticed, even from Ginger, who saw them gone a second later. Allowing himself to grin, Eric closed his office door once they got there, and strode around his desk.

"How is your head?" he asked Lillian. "Doing better, I hope?"

"Yes, thank you." She maneuvered to the chairs before it and sat down, sipping at her drink as she did so. "Was the blade unharmed?"

"Yes, it was," Eric answered upon a sigh, but he didn't sit and instead idly hovered over a pile of documents. "It had to be thoroughly disinfected from the Maenad's blood. But you had handled it with care…" he appraised idly.

He seemed distracted to her, or was it feigned?

"I was actually worried that there might've been corrosion damage after seeing the Maenad dissolve like that." Lillian went to take another drink and found it empty. Rather than hold it, she placed it out of his way on the corner of his desk.

"Thankfully not." Now Eric turned and regarded her completely. He leaned against the table, still preferring to stand, then noticing her empty glass. "Would you like another drink?"

"No, thank you, I'm fine." She needed her wits about her. One was fine for the moment. "Eric," Lilly started, looking away from him briefly, "have I caused you any…trouble as of late? Or ever for that matter?"

The Sheriff's face fell at the question, caught him slightly off-guard. "No…not that I recall," he said a little tightly. "Has someone said something to you?"

Lillian stood, not because she was scared into flight but so they were on a more even footing. He was a very tall man.

"I was just genuinely curious. Like you said before, I was sticking out like a sore thumb. If it got out that I was a hunter, it could mean trouble for you…" she paused, watching him. "Trouble that I obviously don't want for you."

Eric's eyes gleamed an odd way, almost warmly...and something else.

"That's very considerate of you, Lillian. But as long you keep your identity under-wraps, I don't see any problems arising. Your partner, on the other hand, she doesn't like us very much."

"No, she doesn't," Lillian sighed. She turned away in her own disappointment with the situation. "Too many hunters are raised on this idea that everything is black and white. That's not the case anymore, if it ever was. Marylin… She just can't see that."

"But _you_ can." The vampire took a slow step towards her. "You're different from her."

Lillian watched him move towards her and gave a small smile. "It would seem so," she said softly. "We have to look at a person's merit now."

Eric stopped once he was just a couple feet away and asked:

"So what would you conclude about…me? Do you believe I have redeeming merits?"

"I think so," she replied. "I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't think you did."

"There are some that would beg to differ on that, even those that have known me for centuries."

Lilly shrugged. "Eye of the beholder and all of that." She could barely hear the music from out in the club now... "But from what I've seen, you have more merit than you let on at times."

A surprised smirk graced his lips, and the man's gaze trailed down hers. Lillian knew who he was—a vampire, a killer. She knew what he was capable of, she knew his reputation, the kind of man he was. And yet she was still standing there with him? What kind of hunter was she? He still couldn't figure it out. Lillian was bold, risking herself so.

Eric's tone grew huskier. "I have never met anyone like you," he admitted to her.

"Hopefully with more time, you will." Her own eyes traveled over his face, passive in their search. "I've been called foolish more times than once for the way I see people. Most of it having happened lately." Her smile changed into a smirk at the hidden meaning.

"Maybe those that called you that are the fools."

He stared at her mouth. Now feeling himself drawn to it, he didn't linger on the reason why. Lilly's gaze was watchful, yet she didn't back away—and that only pulled Eric closer.

They read each other. They both tried to figure the other out, and whether it was the strong drink that Ginger had made, or something else, Lillian found herself taking a half step towards him. Eric slowly raised a hand, wondered if she'd flinch at his touch, and ever-so-slightly stroked her cheek. When he elicited a small shiver, he only smiled. And when she didn't pull away, the man leaned further in.

Lillian was by no means a short woman and he still towered over her. Her eyes widened as he neared and she shifted towards him in response. She barely noticed how cold his hand was—all she could do was stare into his eyes.

"Maybe," she said at last. Barely a whisper.

Should he dare?

When their lips met, time slowed as if upon his command. The moment stilled, everything else passed unnoticed, some senses deafening while others began to absorb. Lilly's heart beat into her ears and Eric heard it in his own. It belied the cool she displayed a second ago, the façade that dissolved right before him by tingling nerves. His gaze, so light and clear, watched her curiosity, entrancing her into submission. She could not resist. Her mouth melted against his own, as he coaxed her gently with persistence. It took a moment or two.

She was tentative once she responded, and Eric breathed in her sigh almost eagerly. His hand slid to clasp her neck, while the other made its way around her waist, pulling her flush against a chest that felt like stone. She could sense his muscles, finely chiseled, beneath his shirt—they were powerful yet so intimidating.

The vampire held Lillian firmly as they kissed and she knew she couldn't flee, not that she entirely wanted to now. She was in a daze. Though she controlled her movements, her wits were certainly not her own. They had left. Her hands lifted up, one going to his chest while the other went to his shoulder. Her fingers closed, tangled with the fabric of his shirt to give her more purchase.

And meanwhile, her mind marveled at what she was doing—all of the warnings and past teachings she had growing up flew out the window. Yes, Eric was dangerous, but here and now… The woman dissolved against him, yielding to his demands as her stomach rolled and new energy scorched through her.

The kiss intensified and before Lilly realized, he'd guided her to the wall and presently, there she stood pinned. His hand buried in her thick blonde hair, fingers entangling between the tresses. The other hand at her back slipped under her shirt to further explore her flawless spine. Shudders rolled up her skin and the man's expert tongue made her all but swoon in his arms.

There hadn't been a need to glamour. Eric received the exact reaction he wanted. And he reveled in it, his hunger greatening. Would she still be unafraid of him if he—

Pulling away from her mouth, he looked at her eyes and noticed they were twinkling, astounded. As his lips parted slightly, she saw a pair of peering fangs. Automatically, her tongue drifted over her own teeth to test the sharpness of them. And she found them dull as ever, so her heartbeat elevated at once. But then she unexpectedly smiled through her nervousness.

Lillian wanted to bathe in the danger she faced. "Eric."

She shifted her hand from his shoulder to his neck, let the pad of her thumb drift over his smooth skin and the edge of his own blond hair.

However, the scrutiny was short-lived. Emboldened, she closed the distance between them without delay.

Eric welcomed the kiss. He stole her breath away again. He made her moan and shiver all the more, and feel the pull between her legs. Indeed, she inched to have one of his legs firmly between her two. He teased and exerted her mouth to the point where somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew her lips would be swollen and red afterwards. But it was a fleeting realization.

And then, just like that, he severed the kiss entirely. To drag his mouth across her neck, as lightly as a feather. Allured by her pulse, he felt it thrum beneath his mouth. It danced a fluttering beat, calling to him, begging him. He earned himself a louder moan and he smirked.

The man couldn't help himself—he _wanted_ to, he _had _to. He needed to taste her. He could add "female hunter" to his list of those tried.

There above her collarbone, the man stopped and placed a firm kiss of reassurance. Just a nip, it wouldn't hurt. His lips were so soft against her flushed peach skin that Lilly smiled and brushed her own against the top of his head. Carefully, she shifted so that she could kiss the curve of his ear, her eyes closing again…

"Damn," she breathed.

Then her calm shattered as a knock was heard at the door. Yes, a damn knock.

It was more like a dump truck being run through a wall then a light tap. It interrupted them before the deed was even done.

Lillian froze in Eric's embrace. Her eyes darted over to the entrance of his office, and she saw the handle twist partway and stop. The lock prevented it from opening.

"_Boss? You in there?"_

The hunter immediately dropped her arms from around Eric. The voice sounded like Chow's. The situation felt akin to two teenagers hiding from parents. Eric sucked in a ragged breath and growled, but he kept Lillian in his grasp.

"_Eric_?"

"What?" snapped the Sheriff finally. Though Chow was loyal and obedient, he was annoying and always managed to arrive at the most inopportune moments.

"Uh_, your one o'clock is here, boss. They're waiting. Now it's five minutes past_."

The Sheriff let out a breath and quickly retracted his fangs. Business always came first, no matter the opportunity. Letting go of Lilly, Eric went to unlock the door. But before he opened it, he gave the girl a very meaningful look that promised a later continuation. The hunter watched him, carefully masked her face into composure. But inside, she was whirling with thoughts.

When the door opened, Chow stood in the doorway, taking up most of the space. Two thin-looking vampires stood behind him. They looked up at the Sheriff and around him with smarmy expressions.

"We don't mind waiting, Sheriff, if you'd like to finish your dinner," one of them, a woman, told Eric with a gracious smile. She had on a demented-looking, gothic collar that was between those worn during Elizabethan times, and a medical neck brace.

The man with her nodded, seeing the rumpled woman further in the room. "We understand that business on an empty stomach can be quite the annoyance."

Behind the Sheriff, Lillian clenched her teeth together.

"That's alright. I'm done with her." Eric glanced at the hunter and with his hand gave her a gentle push to leave. "We can commence our meeting. Please, take a seat. Chow, see Lillian out. Hail a taxi for her, too."

Before closing the door behind her, Eric held firmly Lilly's gaze, and he then glanced to his crony. Eric gave him a tight smile of warning that said he didn't plan to share.

Knowing that the line had been drawn, Chow nodded to his boss and looked Lilly over, unable to hide a small smirk.

"Let's go," he said and gestured for her to follow him out into the club.

With being in such a quiet room before, the sudden blast of obnoxious metal music made the hunter wince. It seemed like the occupancy rate had doubled within the short amount of time she'd been gone. It's like she woke up from a dream.

Thankfully, Pam hadn't been at the door when they left, and once Chow had called a taxi to take her back to Bon Temps, Lilly was more than happy to settle her head back on the worn passenger seat. Closing her eyes, she tried to figure out exactly what had just happened.


	11. Don't Fear the Reaper

Love of two is one

Here but now they're gone  
Came the last night of sadness  
And it was clear we couldn't go on  
The door was open and the wind appeared  
The candles blew and then disappeared  
The curtains flew then he appeared  
Saying, "Don't be afraid."

~Blue Oyster Cult

….

_Back in Bon Temps…_

"_What was going through your head_?"

When Lillian arrived back at the motel, Scott was there. He stood in front of her and blocked the way to her room's door.

"Get out of the way, Scott," Lilly told him. She pulled her door key out of her back pocket, but Scott grabbed her by the arm to stop her and yanked her around so that she was in front of him again.

"Do you know what they're capable of? Do you even _think_ before you do something?"

Lillian stared at her brother in astonishment and truly couldn't understand why he was so upset. She'd never seen him this mad before. The white around his pupils was alarmingly bright. His gaze was intense, unblinking almost.

She tried to pull her arm from his grasp. "S-Scott, _stop_," she began.

"Do you think I don't care what happens to you?"

Lilly let out a small cry. Then both of them looked up to a distant yell. Down the road, two shapes were coming towards them, one running ahead of the other. As they neared, the two siblings discovered it was Marylin and Sam.

"Scott!" Furious, the former rounded on him and shoved him away, protecting Lillian behind her. "What the hell are you doing? What's wrong with you!"

"What's wrong with _me_?" Scott snapped, way past any anger she had previously seen from him. "What's wrong with _her_—is what you should be asking!"

Lillian didn't back down from people all that often, but Scott was someone she couldn't take. He was her brother and though she got mad at him, she all too often found herself unable to fight him.

Sam stepped up beside them and tried to take in the situation.

"Lilly? Did someone-? Oh, God-" Marylin turned around and grabbed her friend's collar, to check her neck for bite marks. Before she could find any, Lilly pushed her away.

"You think I would do that?" she yelled, backing away from both of them. "You think I'd let him _bite me_?"

"_Him_?" Scott repeated. "Who is _him_?"

"None of your business, Scott! And I meant _them_!" Lillian turned away from both of them as she headed to the door. Then she abruptly sprung back around. "And maybe I _do_ want to be bitten, huh? Have you considered that possibility?"

"You do not want to be bitten! You're not some little fangbanger!" Scott yelled.

Lilly suddenly looked like she'd been slapped. Marylin stood there, gaping at her in horrified stun.

"Lil-Lilly…how could you-"

Sam interrupted quickly: "Now, wait just a second here, folks-"

Scott yelled right over him. "How could you do this!"

"You know what? Fuck you! Fuck you both! I don't have to put up with this!" Lilly rarely swore, so when Scott heard it, it even gave him slight pause. He didn't appear to notice when his sister's eyes started to glisten.

"L-Lilly," Marylin tried, quiet now, as she took a step towards her. "We just don't want anything to happen to you… They're _vampires_-"

"Yeah? And what are you?" Lillian turned her back on the three of them and ran out to the taxi that had started to pull away. Quickly, she beat on the side of the left passenger window and it stopped.

"Don't you dare get in that car-" ordered Scott. Lilly was already shutting the door.

"Hey!" her brother yelled. "Lillian, get back here!" Sam grabbed Scott from behind before he could run after the taxi.

"Don't do it, just let 'er go for now," Merlotte told him. Scott broke out of the man's grasp. He was too angry to even threaten Sam for touching him.

Instead, Scott shouted at Marylin. "You can take care of her, huh?" Then he turned and began stalking down the road. Marylin's face fell and she watched him go, effectively frozen with the guilt he plunged her in.

"Lilly…"

"Hey," said Sam gently as he came up beside Marylin. "She's okay."

But she said nothing and stared at the taxi's lights until they disappeared. She didn't even feel his arm around her shoulders.

* * *

"No, I think it goes this way—Jason, you're holding it wrong."

Bill picked up the directions and pointed out that the other man was holding the shelf upside-down.

"I think I know how to put a shelf-in-a-box together, Bill," Jason said confidently.

"How many have you put together then, in your time?"

Jason paused, thought about it, but then shook his head dismissively. "Just lemme see the directions."

The two men were kneeling on the floor amongst hundreds of tiny screws and pieces of compress boards, putting together the new shelves for Sookie's house since many had needed to be thrown out earlier that day.

Standing on the porch, Lillian wiped her eyes and knocked on the door. With the men busy, thus it was Sookie who let her in. The girl saw Lilly's face and immediately knew something was wrong. Behind her, the cab pulled out of the driveway, driving away.

"Lilly… Are you okay?" Sookie asked, deeply concerned. She saw Lilly was alone. "Did something happen?"

The hunter looked away, didn't know how to ask but didn't have a choice. "Would you mind if… Can I stay with you for the night? I didn't have anywhere else to go."

"Of course! Lilly, you can stay as long as you want. Bill and I already told you you could." Sookie wrapped her arm around her shoulders, closed the door, and guided Lillian through the foyer and into the living room where the boys were.

"Bill and Jason are tryin' to put together this shelf that we bought, but I think it's goin' to take them longer than they planned."

"Hey!" Jason raised a finger while he concentrated on the directions. "We jus' started and when we're done, it's gonna be the finest damn shelf you'd ever seen! You jus' watch. Hey, Lilly's gonna stay with us?" The boy stood at once and grinned. He wiped a drop of sweat from his brow. "We were wonderin' when you were gonna come back, Lil. Where were ya today?"

"Oh, I…took a little trip out of town. Wanted to get away for a little while," she explained with a nod, "but Sookie says that it's alright if I stay with you for a little while. Is that okay?"

Bill stood up from the floor. After a moment of hesitation, he nodded, suspicious by something he had noticed the second she entered. Something in the air.

He put on what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Of course you can stay here," he told her. "As long as you like." His eyes, narrowed partially, didn't leave hers until finally, she broke contact by looking at Sookie.

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

Sookie smiled and let her go, clasping her hands and strangely looking like a housewife. "Are you hungry? I got some groceries earlier today. Jason, Bill?"

"Yeah, could you get me a beer, Sook?" Jason said, unable to stop grinning at Lillian. "And can you make me a grilled cheese, too maybe? Lilly, you want one? Sookie makes the best grilled cheese, almost as good as our Gran did. Actually, could you add a pickle too, Sook?"

Sookie crossed her arms incredulously. "Do I look like your maid, Jason?" she asked. "Maybe you ought to learn how to cook yourself."

"Geez, you asked if we wanted anythin'. And men ain't supposed to learn how to cook. We do the work and support the family. That's _our_ job. Right, Bill?" He casually slapped vampire Bill on the shoulder. The vampire opened his mouth to reply, but when Jason turned back to the shelf, Bill instead turned at his girlfriend and smiled.

"Sookie, may I speak with you for a moment alone?"

Not wanting to intrude, Lillian headed into the living room where she sat on the couch and watched Jason struggle with the shelf.

Once they were in the kitchen and out of earshot, Bill whispered to Sookie: "I think you should find out where Lillian visited today."

Alarmed, Sookie said, "Why? Do you think somethin' happened?" Lilly had looked like she'd been crying.

A torn expression crossed Bill's face, but he shook his head. "Ask her if she went to…_Fangtasia_."

"_Fangtasia_?" The girl glanced in direction of the family room, wondering if that was in fact true. She nodded hesitantly. "Okay, Bill, I'll try." If something had indeed happened and Lilly wasn't going to tell her, then Sookie had other means to find out, for her friend's own sake.

Bill leaned forward to kiss Sookie's forehead, before leading her back to the family room. "I know you will."

"I think both of you might have had it upside-down, Bill." Lillian grinned as she sorted the different types of screws into piles.

"Aw, shit," swore Jason dismally.

Keeping her expression cheerful, Sookie waved her friend after her. "Well, Lilly, come on. Let's go make those grilled cheeses."

"Don't forget the pickle," Jason reminded with a raised finger.

"Get your own pickle, Jason. Bill, do you want me to get you a bottle of _Tru Blood_?"

"Thank you, but I am fine for the moment," replied the vampire.

Lilly bid, "Good luck," and headed after Sookie. "I'm not really that hungry, Sook, but what would you like me to do?"

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Sookie frowned and went to the fridge, which happened to be stainless steel due to the mini renovation Bill had done. She took out a pack of American cheese, some butter, and then grabbed the bread. The stove was steel too, despite the otherwise vintage décor that was on the walls and ceiling.

"You gotta eat somethin', Lilly…"

"I'm fine, really. I don't feel like eating." How could she? Lilly could still taste the margarita that she'd had earlier and actually found herself wishing for another one. Ginger had made it just right. Oh, tequila.

Sookie set about making the sandwiches, glancing at Lillian out of the corner of her eye. "If you say so. I'll make you one anyway, an' if you still don't want it, Jason will gladly eat it."

Lillian shook her head but smiled wearily nonetheless. "Okay. I might head to bed a little early tonight."

"Hah, technically it's early morning already, but I'll show you your room when I'm done here." Sookie looked at her again, wondered how to approach the subject before she'd have to find out herself.

"…Didja have a busy night?"

"You could say that," Lilly replied almost bitterly. If anyone would understand, it would be Sookie, and yet Lilly still felt cautious to talk about it. "It was nice, getting out of Bon Temps." _I wish I wouldn't have come back…_

Hearing that, Sookie almost let it show on her face but then laughed slightly. "Yeah, this little ol' town doesn't have much of a night life. Where'd…you go?"

"I, uh-" _Just say it._ "I went to _Fangtasia_." Lillian lifted her gaze to Sookie and watched her, waiting for the rebuke.

But instead the girl just stared at her in stun—Bill had been right. "You went _alone_?"

Lilly nodded. "Someone needed to thank Eric for what he did, Sookie. He saved all of us and yet we just wrote it off like it was expected."

"He _is_ the Sheriff… It's his job." Leaving the grilled cheeses to cook, Sookie went to sit down at the table with her, studying her expression. "And Bill said he went to talk to him, I think."

"Yeah, that's what Eric said." Thinking of Eric just intensified all of the strange things that had happened. _He didn't bite me…_ "Sookie-" Lilly stopped and sighed, covering her face with her hands.

"What? What is it?" Instead of prying further, Sookie forced herself to hear Lillian out.

"He kissed me, Sookie…and I kissed him back." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Sookie's gasp echoed through the whole room.

"What? Eric?" She sat back down when she realized she had stood. And she glanced quickly to make sure no one outside heard them. "Eric Northman? _How_?" But most importantly. "_Why_?"

"Because I wanted to!" Lillian snapped at her. "And no, I wasn't glamoured. Are you going to judge me too, Sookie?" she asked, her voice lowered once again. "Are you going to tell me how stupid I am?"

Sookie gulped but quickly shook her head, trying to fight a wave of nausea at the prospect. "No, but it's just that it's _Eric_, Lilly. You don't know him as well as I do… You should know that he's not like Bill, not at all. He's sly and he can be deceivin' and, oh, Lilly, you need to be careful!"

Lillian watched her for a moment, her expression melting away into a mask of no emotion. Slowly with a sigh, Lilly stood up.

"Thanks for letting me stay, Sookie. I'm going to head to bed. What room?"

"The third one on the left, but wait, Lilly-" Sookie grabbed her hand before she left, regarding her seriously. "Listen to me, you have to watch yourself. He's not someone you want to get involved with. It's not about him being a vampire, it's about who he is—Eric can be _really_ dangerous."

"I'm not involved with him, okay? I'm not going back to Shreveport. I did what I went to do." There was no logical reason Lillian could think of for why what she just said _hurt_, but for some reason her stomach felt queasy. "You've all made it very clear what I should and shouldn't do."

"Lilly." Sookie let her go. "Lilly, just trust me on this."

"Sookie, when you first started dating Bill, what did you get from everyone? What did they say to you?"

Sookie fell silent. Bill and Eric were on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. Bill was reformed, mainstreaming!

"They didn' know Bill… They assumed things about him that weren't true."

"Are you being any different from them?" Lilly asked her, and then held up her hand when the girl started to protest. "You've seen what you've wanted to see, Sookie. Just think about that a little bit. Bill is no puppy dog that you bought at the local pet store and neither is Eric. Just think about that, okay?"

"I-" But Sookie watched as Lillian then turned and trudged off, not waiting for a reply. It was the burning at the stove finally caught Sookie's attention, for the smoke alarm went off, and the girl rushed to flip the now-blackened grilled cheese into the garbage.

"Fudge!" Sookie sighed and dropped the pan back onto the stove. Now she was in no mood to grill the second one.

When Lillian had gone up the stairs to find a room to stay in, Bill told Jason he would be right back and left back to the kitchen. Jason was so absorbed in the directions of the shelf, he barely even grunted his acknowledgement.

Bill paused beside the kitchen table, watching Sookie grudgingly make Jason's sandwich. "Are you alright? Did you ask Lillian?"

Sookie scoffed, shook her head and spun around. She made sure Lillian was definitely out of earshot. "Bill, you would _not_ believe what I found out. She _was_ at Fangtasia, and she was alone."

"She went alone?" Bill repeated shocked. "Why would she do that?"

"She said she went to talk to Eric, to thank him, even though you'd already gone yesterday. And he-" But Sookie couldn't say it. She was still too baffled.

"He what, Sookie? What did he do? If he has bitten her…"

"No, he didn't, thank God, but it probably could've come to that. You know Eric. They just…" she lowered her voice, wincing. "She told me they kissed, Bill. Well, _he_ kissed her. And though she said he didn't glamour her…"

"What?" Bill was in shock. "You are sure she said this? Perhaps she is mistaken." But how could you mistake a kiss?

"Ohhh no, Bill. She was goin' off on me, all defensive. I warned her but she didn't listen. She-she reminded me of our relationship and." Sookie glanced between them, frowning. "You are so _not_ like Eric."

"No, I am not," he agreed and clenched his teeth. "She has been very foolish to do this. I will speak with Eric. This will not continue."

"You're gonna go r-right now?"

"No, I will go tomorrow night. But you will need to watch Lillian until then. I do not think she is in the right frame of mind to be making decisions if she is…_attracted to Eric_."

Sookie couldn't help a shudder of disgust. "Which I can' even understand."

"They have acted strangely when we were in Dallas _and_ after, if you saw, but I did not think it would get to this point. I will take care of it."

"Okay. I just hope it doesn't end bad… I'm gonna go take this to Jason." Not forgetting the pickle because she was such a good sister (even adding two more slices), Sookie left the kitchen with her brother's food.

* * *

_Next day…_

"The damage is pretty extensive an' classic car parts aren't cheap, Doll," Jack the mechanic said as he looked the Camaro over. The hood was up and he was looking over a fairly long list of damages on a clipboard that he held. "You sure you're gonna be able to cover this?" It was going to easily be ten-thousand dollars worth.

"Of course…" the short, old man started again, smiling as he tried rather pervishly to look down her blouse. Marylin fought off a scowl and quickly crossed her arms.

"If you can get it done in two weeks, I'll give you half now and half later. I've got the money. Do we have a deal, Mr. Davey?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Half now, half later."

"Mmmm…yeah that'll work. I'll get to work on it right now. Why don' we just head into my office and draw up the…paperwork?" he smiled at her greasily. Though part of her was apprehensive, Marylin followed after him. The guy wouldn't get very far if he pulled something.

She made sure the door to his office remained open as he got out the needed papers. But just as she began filling them, the Sheriff appeared and looked quite suspiciously at the supposed Wildlife ranger, whom he now had cornered.

"Well, hello. Jack, sorry to interrupt your dealin', but can I speak to Ms._ Gold_ a moment. Ms. Gold, howdy ado?"

"Uh, fine, thank you."

"Oh, I'm sure, I'm sure," he said, smiling at her and nodding.

"Sheriff Dearborne… Are you sure you can't wait?"

"It'll just take a minute, that's all."

"Sure, Sheriff. I'll just step outside then until yer ready." Jack smiled and stepped out of his office, closing the door behind him.

"So, Marylin, are you gonna come with me, or are we going to have a situation on our hands?"

Marylin's face fell deadpan as she stared at him, now wishing she and Lilly had gotten the hell out of here. "Did you already take Sam Merlotte back in?"

"Not yet. Figured you were more of a flight risk. So come on then. Let's head down to the station." Bud held out his handcuffs for her to see. "Let's not make this harder than it needs to be, hm?"

"I had nothing to do with the killing, Mr. Dearborne." Protesting, the woman tried to hold back the alarm in her voice. "You have no clear evidence and you've already held us for forty-eight hours."

"That's true, but you did flee, so I can get you with that. And, Ms. _Winchester_, I'm pretty sure I could find something else. Come on now." Bud gestured for her to turn around as he opened a metal cuff.

"Sheriff-" Marylin had no choice. She clenched her jaw, doing as he said, and let him lead her out. Jack watched with wide eyes, but she ignored them, swearing inwardly at her luck, Lilly, and Scott. _Now_ they were screwed. To make things even worse, Marylin was alone.

* * *

_Several hours later…_

"Well, Marylin, I hope you enjoyed your stay in Bon Temps."

Sheriff Dearborne arrived outside her cell with a man in a suit standing beside him.

"You're bei'n extradited to the state of Illinois, for past crimes you've committed. And don't worry, we'll get yer friend, too."

"Thank you, Sheriff," said the man in the suit. "Our flight leaves in an hour though, so we need to get going."

"S-" Marylin gaped and backed away almost to the wall of her cell. She'd been there for already three hours or so and she'd gladly stay the night, if only she didn't have to go with the FBI agent.

_Agent._

Her eyes narrowed.

Though Scott kept his face straight, she imagined him laughing inside—the bastard!

"Extradited? _Is that so_? So soon?" she said.

"Yes it is, and I'd appreciate your cooperation, Ms. Winchester," Scott answered coolly, as Bud opened the cell. "If you do, I'll certainly make sure the judge knows."

"Okay, Marylin, just like before. Nice and easy." Bud stepped inside the cell and held out the handcuffs so that he could put them on her. Ever-glaring at the agent, Marylin yielded and the old man led her out. And there outside the building, she could only scoff when she saw the black Hummer that stood waiting for them. The vehicle glinted in the light, the windows blackened, all official-like.

"Take care, now, ya hear?" Bud waved as he watched them drive off.

Inside the car, Scott smiled slightly and lifted a key for Marylin to take from where she sat in the back seat. "Here. Bet that's not very comfortable."

Marylin scowled but quickly unlocked herself, chucking away the cuffs. When she checked the doors, she found them locked. "Pull over and let me out," she demanded. "I have to call Lillian. Then I need to go back to my car."

He glanced at her in the rearview mirror as he offered her his phone. "Here, you can use my phone. I figured you'd want to swing by the motel to grab your gear, then we can grab Lilly, and then grab your car. How does that sound?"

She took the phone and didn't answer, not exactly the grateful reaction Scott was hoping for. There was nothing he couldn't do about it. When Marylin called his sister, unfortunately she got her voicemail and had to leave a quick message, telling Lilly of their situation.

Marylin tossed him back his phone and said, "She's probably at Sookie's."

"Let's try there then. You want to climb into the front seat?" he asked, though he didn't look back at her and kept driving. "Did they feed you? I brought something if you're hungry."

She stayed in the back seat, instead looking out the window. "I'm fine."

"Do you really hate me that much?"

"I don't hate you, Scott. I just don't want to speak to you," said Marylin dismissively. Thankfully the hotel was just ahead. Everything was within two minutes in this hick town. When they parked in front of her room and Scott unlocked the doors, the woman quickly got out.

"They seem like one and the same to me…" Scott mumbled and got out of the car as well. "Would you…like me to grab Lilly's stuff for you?" he asked. He made a visible effort to get her opinion on the matter.

"Sure."

Without holding the door for him, Marylin went to collect her own things and halfheartedly began folding her clothes. She went around the room to make sure nothing was forgotten. They'd been there for over a week, after all. The old wallpaper and tacky curtains had long begun to give her a headache.

* * *

_Afterward…_

"I'll…let you convince her to come," Scott told Marylin as he leaned back against the black hummer that he presently parked in front of Sookie's house. "Something tells me she might listen to you a little more than she'd listen to me."

From inside the house, hammers and a radio could be heard, as well as Jason's normal, mindless chatter. Marylin approached the door, not looking back at Scott, and rang the bell. It took a couple of minutes before she was greeted by Sookie, whose face went from jolly to suspicious when her eyes landed on Scott and his massive car.

"Sookie, is Lilly there? I need to tell her we're leaving."

"Leaving? So soon?"

"Yeah…" Marylin glanced away briefly and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, but we really have to. And we need to take her with us."

Having been repainting the kitchen, Lillian heard every word said and walked over to stand beside Sookie in the doorway. The former shook her head.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, Marylin, but I'm not going." She shrugged and looked past her friend to her brother. "I'm sorry."

"Listen, Lilly," Marylin began tightly. "Earlier today, while I was at Jack's, Sheriff Dearborne came and he took me to the station. He knows who I am and he knows who you are and if he sees you, he's going to put you away too," she shook her head, "Now we have no choice, we have to go…"

Overhearing, Jason appeared and through the doorway saw Scott. "You want me to go talk to him?" he readily offered, putting down his drill. "I could go talk to him."

"Jason-" He raised a hand and cut Marylin off, lifting a finger.

"If Lilly don't wanna go, she doesn't have to and that's that."

"Jason, you're not going to settle anything," said Sookie.

"Jason," Lilly started with a reluctant breath, "as much as I want to stay and would love it if you could wave some magic wand and get it to happen…it won't. It can't go away."

"Lil, let's go." Marylin started out the door.

"Mar, I'm not going with you," Lillian said quickly.

"Whoa, whoa, wait. What's Sheriff Dearborne got on ya?" Jason asked Lilly, and Sookie was then curious too.

"Maybe we can talk to them," she offered. "Let's figure something out. When Bill wakes up, we can tell him and he'll help us think of something."

There wasn't much choice that she had, and Lillian knew it. "I really don't think there's anything that can be done, but I'll stay for the night at least and leave tomorrow, okay? It's getting late now anyway." Ignoring Marylin, she turned and headed back into the kitchen.

"Wait, Lilly! Lilly!" Both Jason and Sookie stepped in Marylin's way when tried to go after her. "Look guys, it seems you really aren't understanding the situation we're in. It's really bad. We have to go."

"You can't wait one more night?" Sookie asked.

"No, I'm sorry, we can't."

"Look, it's gettin' late. An' Lilly doesn't want to go."

"Jason-!" Marylin clenched her fists. But, they were right: The sun was beginning to set already. She needed to get the Camaro. They couldn't leave. They'd have to hide out there for another day.

"Bill won't be able to do anything, okay? S-so tomorrow, we're picking her up. I'm sorry. Sookie, you have to understand. _Tomorrow_." They watched the hunter leave, though neither of the Stackhouses was convinced.

Marylin saw irritation flare across Scott's face. There was nothing he'd be able to do either. So Marylin got back inside the car. "We'll leave tomorrow. I need my car back, anyway."

"Marylin, I'm telling you right now that if she doesn't agree to come with us tomorrow, I'm dragging her out of there," Scott told her. He tried to keep his tone even while, at the same time, show restraint by not grabbing his errant little sister right then and there. "I just…thought you should know because she doesn't understand how truly serious this is."

"The authorities are after us." She sat stiffly beside him but kept her eyes on the road. "And she's…she's just mad at us."

"I don't see why. She was the one that screwed up," Scott said. Then, he dropped it. "We should stay out of Bon Temps tonight. We'll find a room—couple of rooms at a hotel in the town over."

"Yeah, okay." Though she didn't want to be alone with him, Marylin had no choice. "Unfortunately Shreveport is closest." As long as they stayed away from _Fangtasia_…there shouldn't be any problems.

"Shreveport it is then."

Not only would they have to get the hotel room in the town, but they'd also have to dump the Hummer and pick up a new car. Having it for more than a day was risky. Fortunately, the pair managed to do that rather easily and found themselves at a motel on the outskirts of Shreveport at nightfall. Scott got two rooms as he'd promised, and Marylin made a beeline for her own.

For once she wanted a good night sleep.

Scott followed her towards her door but stopped with a few feet between.

"Marylin, wait. I want to tell you something." His unexpected vulnerability at that moment was so strong it was almost palpable. His eyes gleaming in earnest. The previous tension…_gone. _All of it. "_Please_."

She paused, looking at him, and tried not to react to it. "I'm really tired, Scott," she said dully, opening her door to go inside. "I want to go to sleep."

"Marylin—Mar, _wait_." Reaching forward, Scott grabbed the door to keep her from shutting it. "Please… I just wanted to say that—that I'm sorry." He frowned deeply, _wishing_. "I know it doesn't help anything, but I am sorry for what I did."

"Yes, well it's been a year. Don't you think you're a bit late?" Marylin pushed against him, averting his gaze. This was the last thing she needed. "I want to sleep."

Whether she expected it or not…he did as she asked. He turned around and left.

* * *

_In the heart of Shreveport, Fangtasia…_

"Bill Compton, such a surprise," said Pam sarcastically as she stopped him at the door. "Let me guess, you need something?"

"I need to speak with your boss." Bill's gaze was hard and unflinching as usual, but it did little to sway her.

"So what else is new?" she asked him. She stepped aside regardless. She had no reason to keep him out of the club. Eric was in his office. Because it was only around eleven o'clock, the club was not yet at its busiest. Thus, Eric allowed them in, and Pam had to grudgingly open the door for Bill. He stormed through to confront a rather unresponsive Sheriff.

Busy with paperwork, Eric didn't bother looking up, even though he had already sensed Bill's mood before he had walked in.

"Did something else decide to invade Bon Temps?"

"We need to talk."

"I'm not in the mood to hear your complaints, Bill."

"But perhaps you are in the mood to _glamour_ some human out of her wits to feed?" Bill asked him sharply. "You have no business with Lillian, Eric."

At that, the Sheriff's eyes shot up and burned. He dropped his paperwork as if they'd been forgotten.

"I don't see how our business is any of your concern," the vampire growled. "And since when do you answer for her?"

"Since she left her hunters because of a disagreement over you!" Bill informed him. "Sookie informed me of what happened and I have made it my business to see that it stops."

"Is that so?" In flash, Eric was in front of him, livid and towering over him. "If I remember correctly, you have showed a clear dislike for the hunter. Now you're making an attempt to protect her? And from _me_?"

"She has…_proven_ herself to me and she is Sookie's friend," Bill explained. Yet in his mind, he didn't see why he had to. His reasons were his own. "And why should I not protect her from you? What game are you playing here, Eric? Do you seek to destroy her because she is a hunter? Have you grown tired with your life here at the club and now must find a different entertainment?"

Oh, the challenge that lay in Compton's eyes. Although the Sheriff was taller, bigger, Bill glared at him like a cat that was prepared to fight. Age held no intimidation.

"She's not an entertainment for me. But she does _intrigue_ me," Eric admitted, thoughtful for a second. His anger still flared. "Her choices were made without my glamouring. They were her own. But if you are trying to intimidate me, Bill, then I will remind you I do not respond well to threats." The Sheriff took a step towards him, consequently backing Bill to the door.

"Don't pick a fight with your Sheriff," Eric advised darkly, "for your own sake."

"Stay away from the hunter, Eric, and I will have no need to." Bill trudged away from him and left the office.

Shooting a glare at the back of his head, Eric slammed the door shut.

* * *

_Bon Temps…_

"Sam?" Marylin walked into _Merlotte's_ and found its cleaning crew back again, but there was no sign of their boss anywhere. Spotting Arlene, who fussed about very much like a madwoman, the hunter decided to ask the waitress and managed to acutely startle her.

"Hey, Arlene, have you seen Sam?"

"Oh, gosh, Agent Gold?" Arlene clasped her heart dramatically. "You startled me. We all thought you left a'ready."

Marylin forced a smile, even though her mood was as gray as the current weather. "No, but we're leaving soon, today actually. I came by to speak to Mr. Merlotte one last time. Is he around?"

"Oh, sure, he's out back. You want me to show you where that is?"

"No, no. I'll find him. I'll let you get back to work. Thanks for your help." Marylin promptly left before Arlene said a word more. Smirking, the waitress watched her go and then resumed her fussing about as if she'd never been interrupted.

Marylin found Sam outside, unloading groceries from his truck and looking very contemplative about something. Before she even spoke, paused at the door, he looked up and saw her. The smile on his face made Marylin's stomach churn.

"You feelin' any better today?" he asked as he hefted what looked like a fifty-pound bag of potatoes out of his truck bed. "'Scuse me." So as not to bump her, the man stepped around her so that he could bring it into the kitchen.

"Yeah, just a bit. Uh." She followed him, uncertain as to how to begin. Lafayette and Terry were busy in the kitchen—cooking, it seemed like.

"Are you opening back up already?" Marylin asked Sam, surprised.

"Not for the day shift," he said and then paused to dump the potatoes into a big, wooden bin. "But we are gonna open for the night shift. Takes money to make money, so we have to get this place open." After wiping his hands on his pants, he stepped out of the kitchen and back outside. "This place isn't helpin' anyone sittin' closed. Did you come for lunch?" he asked as he went to get the other bags.

"No, actually…" Marylin didn't know why this was so hard—it shouldn't have been. "Actually, Sam, I'm leaving and I've come to say goodbye. Thanks for everything, a-and I'm glad everything is okay now, here and with y-you." Unable to look at his face, she now made to leave.

Sam stopped getting the groceries and slowly straightened to look at her. "Oh, but what about our car? Is it done?"

"No, it's not, but we don't really have a choice because Sheriff Dearborne knows who we are and so we can't stay. He went after me yesterday. Technically I was supposed to be extradited to Illinois already." She smiled weakly with a faint laugh.

"Oh. Yeah. I can see how that would make things difficult for ya here." Sam smiled sadly and stepped towards her. "Well, you know if there's anything I can do, I'll do it."

Marylin nodded and crossed her arms, trying to be somewhat optimistic. "Thank you… But I don't think anything can be done now. We're going to go north, as far as we can," she said quietly.

"Well… Can I make you a sandwich for the road?" he offered unexpectedly, and was shocked that he found himself hoping she'd say yes. And then he saw a sudden smile lit her face.

"Okay. That would be nice."

Marylin followed Sam back inside and to the kitchen, where he went into the pantry and quickly took out the needed ingredients. She watched him, leaning against the wall nearby, not noticing a nosy Lafayette smiling deviously at Sam.

Sam just looked away from his opinionated cook and brought his items over to the butcher-block counter where the hunter was.

"Terry, why don't we go 'n grab us those groceries that Sam has _so conveniently_ left for us out in that heat, _hmm_?" Lafayette asked his coworker, who looked confused but followed him out anyway.

"I'm sorry about them. How do you like your sandwiches?" Merlotte asked as he cut a couple of hearty slices from the loaf of sourdough bread.

" I'm not picky," Marylin answered and hoped she hadn't blushed.

Sam slathered on the spiced mustard, and, once all of the meat, cheese, lettuce, and freshly cut tomatoes were placed, closed the sandwich. He quickly wrapped it in paper and held it out for her to take. But when her fingers closed around it, he didn't let go. Lowering her gaze between them, Marylin felt her heart lurch.

"Sam…" she whispered with a frown. She couldn't stay.

The man lifted his hand to her face and gently brushed her hair out of her eyes. He couldn't let her go. Not yet. He was so focused on her features that he didn't realize he was still holding her sandwich. Marylin slowly looked up at him and found it that much harder to leave. She saved him, he helped her. He stirred something within her she did not expect. It was young but it was there.

"Sam, I-"

The words from her lips were stopped as his finger moved from her hair and to her mouth. He effectively silenced her. He watched his finger there for a moment, touching her lips. Then—then he slowly leaned in towards her.

If she was to leave, this was his only chance. But to his surprise, he found that she met him halfway, timid but willing. Upon the kiss, they both felt a burst of warmth. Marylin's eyes closed and Sam cupped her cheek, the sandwich still in their hands.

Sam sighed and let his thumb stroke over her skin while they kissed. It was short but sweet, entirely innocent and hopeful. With regret in his eyes, he then pulled back, and watched her face, wishing that she could stay. He couldn't keep her there. Not with the danger she was in from the law enforcement.

The front door opened and Scott walked in to try to find Marylin. She had said that she would meet him here and so he'd come. But he didn't see her…

"Marylin?" he called. Ignoring a grinning Arlene, he swiftly headed into the kitchen.

Sam heard the man, finally released the wrapped sandwich, and took a half step back. Gasping, Marylin rushed around the doorway. When Scott saw her, his eyes narrowed and then he spotted Merlotte.

"I just wanted to say bye to everyone," Marylin explained quickly. She glanced briefly at Sam, trying to mask her sadness. "I couldn't just leave without them knowing."

"Made her a sandwich for the road," Sam told Scott. "If you want anything-"

"I think I'm good, thanks," Scott interrupted briskly. "Marylin, we've got some trouble with your car. It's not done, but…we don't have a choice. We need to get Lilly and go."

"We'll come back for it, though, right? We're _going_ to come back for it," the woman repeated stubbornly.

Scott nodded, held up a slight hand to stall more of her protests. "Of course we'll come back for it. Once it done, we'll come back and get it for you, okay?"

"Why don't you give me your cell number and I'll keep an eye on it for you?" offered Merlotte.

"Okay. Thank you, Sam." Before Scott objected, Marylin went to Sam and on a piece of paper jotted her phone number down. But before giving it to him, she said, "Call and tell me how it's doing…"

"Yeah." Sam watched her with a strange expression on his face. He eyed Scott. "I'll do that."

Scott scrawled his own number on another piece of paper and rather brusquely handed it to him, too. "Good, here's my number in case you can't get a hold of her. We need to get going, Marylin."

"Okay. Bye…" She looked at Sam once last time and then left, left for what Sam hoped wasn't forever.

* * *

"Remember what I said yesterday?" Scott asked Marylin as he pulled into Sookie's driveway. "I meant it, Mar. If she doesn't come with us, I'm carrying her out of there." Jason's truck was seen parked outside, as well as Sookie's little yellow car.

"Scott, you won't have to do that," said Marylin, getting out of their new, borrowed SUV and striding to the house. "We don't have a choice and she knows it. She's not stupid." It seemed quiet inside, but it was already past noon. At first Marylin thought they were all still sleeping, but then a bleary Jason opened the door, chugging down a carton of milk.

"G'mornin'. Why're you here so early?" he asked and wiped his chin from a spill.

"It's already noon." Jason looked past Marylin and scowled at Scott, watching him climb the porch.

"Oh, he's with ya, too. Lil's still sleepin', for your information," said Jason cagily.

Scott eyed the hick with a confidently raised brow. "Well, it's time she woke up then. We're leaving town now."

"She'll leave when she's good and ready," Stackhouse said as he stepped out onto the porch towards them in his white wife-beater.

"Why don't you go talk to her then? See if she's ready?" Though Scott obviously didn't care if she was ready or not, he would try to go by their requests for the sake of the girls. Jason eyed Marylin, who he didn't deem as threatening, and then conceded finally.

"Okay, I'll go check on her."

"Is Sookie up? Maybe you can ask her," suggested Marylin.

"Sookie ain't up either. So I'll be back. You two…just wait here." With the milk carton in his hands, Jason leapt up the stairs, and Scott had to restrain himself from bristling.

Jason came running back down the stairs less than a minute later, having lost the carton of milk somewhere on his brief foray upstairs.

"She's gone! I know she was there when I went to bed last night, but she must have slipped out sometime during the morning!"

"_What_?" Scott was beside himself. His sister had actually given them the _slip_! Had he not been so angry, he might have felt a glimmer of pride.

Sookie appeared as well, hearing the commotion, seeing the two at the door. "Jason? Marylin? What's wrong?"

"Sook, Lilly's gone," Jason told her. "She wasn't with you, was she? She ain't in her room."

"What? She wasn't with me. I saw her go to her room las' night!" Sookie said.

"I know, me too!"

"How could she have left?" questioned Marylin. "How could you two not have noticed?"

"We're not her keepers, okay? As much as I'd like to be," Jason said with a grin, but then shook his head, forcing himself serious. "We'll find her. Call her cell phone."

"We should have taken her yesterday!" Scott growled, paced away from the door. "Where could she have gone? Sookie, do you know?"

"N-No, I swear." Even though Sookie had a small irking about something, she didn't voice it and went to the windows. "She didn't take our cars."

"She could've called another taxi." Marylin flipped out her phone and dialed Lilly, but just as the other day, she heard the voicemail. "Dammit. Scott, she's not answering…"

"We'll help you find her. We'll help you look 'round town. Come on, Sookie." Jason was already going for his coat, and Sookie grabbed the keys to her car.

Scott grumbled something under his breath and quickly left the porch to go to the SUV.

"Come on, Marylin. Keep trying her on her cell as we look. Maybe she'll get sick of hearing it ring and actually pick it up." His hands on the steering wheel were white once they started driving. If Lilly ever thought that she'd seen him angry before, once they would find her, she would think again.

* * *

"Thank you," the woman told the cab driver as she handed over some dollar bills, and then headed up to the front door of the building.

A sign that said, "_Sorry, We're Dead_," still hung on the door, but when she tested the handle, she found it open and stepped inside.

"That's pretty trusting of them to leave the door open like that…" Lilly told Ginger when she spotted her wiping down some tables. The sun was already setting, and though the vampires were not yet up, Lilly had thought she'd try anyway.

Ginger grinned and paused in her cleaning.

"I usually open up around seven, an hour or so before they wake up. What are you doin' here again? D-did you come here to…see Eric again?"

Though the woman might've been dumb at times, she wasn't naïve—she knew what happened that other night before. Her coal-lined eyes darted to Lilly's neck, looking for bites.

Lilly smiled with the first real smile she'd had in a couple of days. "Yeah I did," she said. "I know you're getting ready, but any chance I could get a Margarita from you? I've been dreaming about it since I had your last one."

And liquid courage never hurt anyone.

"Oh, sure. I'm glad you liked it. Let me jus' finish this here…" Ginger quickly wiped the rest of the table and then led her to the bar, the waitress' obscenely high stilettos clonking across the floor. She went about mixing and Lilly took a set across from her.

Knowing no one would hear them, Ginger couldn't help but bluntly ask, "So…did you _like it_?"

But Lillian apparently didn't catch the meaning of the words and so leaned forward conspiratorially.

"Yes, I just told you I liked it. I'm not usually a fan of tequila, but I have to admit, you make the perfect margarita."

"No, no not _that_." Ginger giggled and lowered her voice. "I meant did you like it when he, you _know_… I know it hurts at first, I remember my first time, but after that…you don' even fill any pain. It gets _so_ much better."

The waitress' own neck boasted an array of bite marks that seemed to cover every inch.

Lillian stared at Ginger's neck, confusion on her face, and Lilly shook her head.

"He didn't bite me, Ginger." She had to fight down a wave of annoyance. It was to be expected, she knew, especially since she was in a vampire club, but she was really starting to get sick of people assuming she would just give herself up like that so fast.

"I've never been bitten before, Ginger," she told her, and pulled her jacket collar to the side slightly to prove it.

"You _haven't_?" Ginger stared at her wide-eyed as she handed Lilly her drink. "But…I thought. Are you sure he didn'? That's…_weird_."

"I think I'd know if I had been bitten," Lilly told her with a smile as she took a sip of the Margarita. "Why is it weird?"

"Well, usually when he takes someone to his office, he…"

Lillian's face fell slightly, though she tried to hide it. "Oh…so he takes people back there often." Of course he did.

"When he's hungry. You know, if he wants a snack or somethin'." Ginger poured herself a shot and tossed it back. "Usually people just offer themselves to 'em, though, so he doesn' need to ask. But I guess he kinda likes you."

Offered themselves? Lillian would have to make sure she didn't do that.

Ginger poured another shot it and offered it to her. "Here, loosen up. Looks like I made ya nervous. Don't be. Eric's a real gentleman at heart, even though some might say different 'bout him."

Lilly was impressed as she took the shot and gulped it back. She had to clear her throat a couple of times after, but aside from that, she took the burning liquid well.

"I'm glad you can see that. I've been trying to tell people that for a little while now and no one seems to believe it."

"Well…" Ginger leaned in to whisper, her grin alarmingly impish now. "You should know he likes it rough, too."

The hunter's eyes went wide. Before she voiced her shock, both of them heard someone in the doorway. The two turned to see a very heated Pam who shot wicked glares of hate at Lillian.

"_Well, Ginger, look who you dragged in this time. I thought we told you she wasn't allowed in_."

The waitress visibly shivered with panic, as Eric's progeny strode towards them, looking very much like an evil soccer mom, hands on her hips, pink lips pouted.

"But Eric didn' say-" began Ginger.

"_I_ said," Pam drawled. "No hunters allowed, even if they claim they might be _'reformed'_."

"I never claimed to be reformed," Lillian told her as she continued sitting calmly at the bar. Casually, she lifted her glass and took a drink while watching Pam. "I said I don't think like the others." As she watched the vampire, she made very certain to remain calm. Lilly had the feeling that it would only irk Pam more.

"Does it look like I care?" Pam asked. "Get out. Now. You are not welcome here. You've scared away enough of our clientele."

"How have I scared them off? I didn't know you found human women so intimidating, Pam," Lilly replied as she placed her glass back on the bar.

Pam clenched her teeth and bore her fangs, hissing. "Fine, then I'll just throw you out of here, myself—" And she lunged, only to stop at her master's voice.

"_Pam, why do you have to act like a petulant child_?"

Eric swaggered in, clad in his Adidas tracksuit and appearing as though he had a very good day's sleep. Thus he didn't want his underling to ruin his mood, but he was already feeling his annoyance brim.

"Lillian is welcome here any time she likes." The Sheriff gave Lilly a fleeting smile. "She's a friend to us, Pam."

At the sight of him, Lilly forced herself to remain aloof. She circled the base of her glass with her hand, stroking the condensation. It was the only sign of her anxiety when Ginger's words came back to her.

"If you wanted a new vintage, I could have already had her chained up in your office," Pam replied in Swedish, her tone heavy with annoyance. "Just drain her and get it over with."

"Don't rush me… I want to enjoy a challenge," Eric said, and his unknown words managed to send goosebumps down Lilly's back. As if noticing, he approached the girl, speaking in English this time.

"Do the others know you're here?"

If Bill knew where she was, he would've been there already, even though Eric wasn't threatened by Compton in the least.

"No, they don't. They're not my keepers," Lilly replied, looked up at him for a moment before she looked past to Pam. Pam stood there sulking in her own special way.

She directed her anger to the waitress. "Is there a reason you're standing around? Do we pay you to watch Days of Our Lives in person?"

"N-no, sorry. I-I'll get back to work." Ginger scurried off with her rag to clean the tables again, glancing back at Lilly out of the corner of her eye. Eric sat down beside the hunter and leaned an elbow against the counter. He didn't speak until with a pointed glare he made Pam leave as well.

"It was very bold of you to return," he said to Lillian at last.

"I came…to say good bye, Eric," she told him with a straight face. She didn't look at him, though. Instead, the hunter turned so that she was facing the bar and took a sip of her drink. The sweet and salty tang of the drink didn't taste very good after saying those words.

He regarded her calmly, though his voice became monotonous. "You're leaving?"

"Apparently local law enforcement has finally figured out who we are and are pretty excited to get their hands on us." Lillian finally glanced over at him and didn't bother hiding her frown. "Marylin barely managed to get away and apparently they mentioned coming after me." With a sigh, she put her glass down on the bar.

"I can take care of it," the Sheriff offered at once, without a further thought, and he seemed quite adamant. "Is it just the Bon Temps sheriff?"

"Well, yeah that's what Marylin said," Lillian replied, rather miffed.

"Then I will take care of it and he won't even remember who you are," Eric promised her. His tone was softer now and gave her some assurance.

"Would I be pressing my luck…if I asked you to do the same for Marylin?" she asked him with a grin. Perhaps coming here had been the right choice.

Though he glanced away briefly, somewhat reluctantly he answered, "If you wish, then yes. Alright." There was a glint of slyness in his gaze. "But not tonight. Tomorrow I'll be able to. You weren't planning to go back to Bon Temps today, were you?"

"No, I got a motel room for the night. I wasn't planning on going back to Bon Temps at all until you said you could help."

Eric restrained a grin and slid his hand across Lilly's, seizing the opportunity. The coolnes of his skin gave her a shiver. His eyes were gleaming now, as clear and intense as they had been that other night.

"Would you like to stay here instead?" he proposed. "I doubt a motel is very comfortable. Here, on the other hand, we have an extra room you might like…"

Ginger's head shot up as she heard, mouth gaping.

Lillian bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning herself, though it didn't really work. "That might be possible." She had to push everything the others had been telling her out of her head and go with her gut. He was an incredibly dangerous man and predator, but she didn't care. She just didn't.

"I'm glad." Eric lifted her hand, placing a tender kiss upon her knuckles, while his eyes never left her own. "I will see you later then. I have some sheriff business that I must attend to. Meanwhile, Ginger can show you to your room. And if you need anything else, she'll get it for you."

He stood and pointedly looked at the waitress, who was still frozen with shock when he repeated his orders. "Ginger, is that clear?"

"A-aye, boss," stuttered Ginger.

Thanking him softly, Lilly watched Eric walk to the hallway and disappear. "I guess I'm staying then," she told Ginger with a small grin and a shrug. "Ginger, what's wrong?" She saw the expression on the waitress's face.

"Nothing! Just wait a sec." Ginger spun back round to set her last table and barely hid a fit of annoyance—_jealousy,_ even. Eric practically _never_ let anyone stay in his _extra_ room. So why the hell did he allow Lilly?

The waitress threw her rag behind the counter and stiffly started to the back, not waiting for the girl. "Follow me."

They passed Pam on the way, and she snorted in derision, but rather than confront them, she continued on her way up front.

* * *

_A short while later…_

"Scott. If she's there and we make a scene, it'll be us two against them. The place is full of them… We should call Sookie and Jason—we can't go alone."

But even as Marylin tried to convince him, he wasn't dissuaded. Full speed ahead, he drove to _Fangtasia_, where he was positive his sister was, fraternizing with the mortal enemy. And though Marylin wanted her friend back, she felt apprehensive, nervous. They couldn't handle a bar full of vampires.

"Scott, please-"

"No. I'm not leaving Lilly with that pack of predators. She's just…messed up in the head or something," he replied, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. "She'll see what they're like, and then she'll come with us. Frankly, I don't even understand why she's there to begin with."

"She…she was there with them in Dallas several days ago," Marylin told him. It would make him more mad. "Sookie was needed and asked Lilly to come along. I…don't know what went on there."

A muscle jumped in Scott's jaw as he clenched it. If he tightened it anymore, something was bound to break in his face.

"So we have _her_ to thank for all of this?" he asked rhetorically. "Lilly needs to be straightened out, and we're going to make sure it happens."

Marylin frowned but didn't say anything and instead looked out her window. After evading them twice, there was no way that Lillian would go without a fight, Marylin was sure of it.


	12. Since I've been Loving You

Everybody trying to tell me that you didn't mean me no good.  
I've been trying, Lord, let me tell you, Let me tell you I really did the best I could.  
I've been working from seven to eleven every night, I said It kinda makes my life a drag, drag, drag, drag..  
Lord, yeah, that ain't right... no no  
Since I've Been Loving You, I'm about to lose my worried mind.

~ Led Zeppelin

**. . .**

_"…and I think you might be imagining things_."

Smiling slightly, Lilly shook her head and took a sip from her glass. She slowly let her eyes glance back over at him and she chuckled. He'd been staring at her, clearly not believing what she had said.

They sat on his slightly elevated platform, Eric being quite comfortable sitting in the limelight, whereas it seemed to make Lillian squirm. She wasn't used to sitting front and center, and though she hid it well on the outside, little ticks gave her away. People were staring at them, some quite blatantly, while others stole quick glances every now and then.

"Just don't pay attention. Try to relax," said Eric lightly. His arm was propped around Lilly, making a silent stake to his claim, while his fingers idly snuck to twirl her hair. "Maybe have another drink?"

"I've already had two." Silently, she was keeping track of her tab so that she knew she'd have enough to cover it at the end of the night, whether he let her pay for them or not. After all, business was business.

Pam stood at Eric's other side and muttered: "…This time." She'd been coming and going all night, as though silently willing Eric's attention to rest on her.

"That one has been staring at you all night, Pam," he said to her, noticing a pretty young man that had indeed been gazing at the woman. "You seemed to have caught his attention. Why don't you go and speak to him? He might be satisfactory."

Pam rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips. "What about you?"

"You know I don't like fop," Eric reminded. "He's all yours."

The female vampire cast a glare at Lilly. Eric was practically dismissing her, but Pam did as he suggested. She didn't even bother to look at the young man and lifted her hand into the air, passing him and snapping her fingers. Like an eager puppy dog, he quickly went after her.

"I know she doesn't like me," Lillian said aloud as she watched the pair walk off. "If it's too much of a hassle, Eric, I can just leave. I don't want to cause trouble."

"Nonsense," the Sheriff curtly answered. "Pam is just in one of her moods. She'll be fine once she's done with him. Sated." He leaned to Lilly and with the hand behind her gave a stroke on her cheek, whispering in her ear, "You have nothing to worry about… No one will bother you again."

Goosebumps shivered across her skin, and a smile drifted up to her face. "You promise a lot, Sheriff," she teased quietly, for once not seeing the people that stared at them.

"And I'm a man of my word. Tell me what you thought of your room," he requested, caressing her jaw line.

"There's part of me that wants to tell you it's…passable," she said with a sly grin of her own, "but then I'd be lying. It's amazing, Eric. I don't think I've ever stayed in a place as nice as it. Do you realize that if you lay on the bed, you actually sink a couple of inches?"

He chuckled, smirking as he studied her features, glancing down at her lips. "Yes, I was the one who made sure of it, and you are welcome to stay longer if you like. In fact, Lillian…I hope that you do. "

If only they were alone—maybe he'd end the night earlier for them. The scene was long boring him. He only had interest in the girl before him. Lilly swooned.

But no sooner had she opened her mouth to reply than a vampire at the door was suddenly pushed back. As soon as he stopped stumbling, he righted himself and extended his fangs, hissing at whatever was standing on the other side of the entrance.

Scott made himself known. He walked inside and glared around the club, taking note of everyone though passing them over as well. Eric sprung up at the sight of him and the music stopped at once. Knowing exactly what the hunter was, every occupant of the club was on sudden alert. The stench that floated in was indisputably…_beastly_. Foul. The vampires turned green.

"What the hell is he doing here?" snarled the Sheriff.

Lillian had come to her feet as well and presently stood behind the Sheriff. And as she saw her brother, she then left the platform to weave through the tables towards him.

"Scott? What are you doing here!" Anger started to radiate off of her, though the man didn't seem to notice, or care for that matter.

Scott grabbed her arm and spun her around to the door. "Getting—you—out of here," he spat out every word, fought the urge to turn green himself. "I can't believe you'd come to some hellhole like _this_!"

But barely making it across the room, the hunter was suddenly seized by Eric and thrown away from Lilly, right into several tables. They broke his fall but split apart upon contact, knocking the wind straight out of the man.

Marylin rushed into the bar just in time to catch it. "Oh, God, _Scott_!"

Several vampires spun and blocked her way, growling at her too, while Eric then rounded on Scott once more and yanked him by the collar.

"How dare you intrude on my nest!"

"How dare you intrude upon my family!" Scott roared back.

Watching the two locked onto each other had the color drain out of Lilly's face. "Eric! _No_!" She pushed between several vampires to get to them.

"Lillian! Get outside!" Scott ordered. He never took his eyes off of Eric, whose fangs were longer and sharper and more lethal than Lillian had ever seen. The vampire appeared ready to kill her brother, the others surrounding them. Even Pam appeared with Chow, flanking their boss.

"The likes of you aren't welcome here," the Sheriff made clear to Scott. "And Lillian has already made her choice to stay. So get out of here before we rip you apart."

"NO! Scott!" Marylin flipped out her blade, her way still blocked by the bloodsuckers in front of her. "Lilly!"

Lillian raised a hand to keep her back and yelled over the crowd: "Marylin, stop! Put the knife away!"

"Lillian _hasn't_ made her choice!" Scott growled back at the angry vampire, his voice sounding lower and more menacing.

The girl in question stepped up to the two men, quite literally shoving a vampire that had been about to hold her back, out of her way. "Scott, do what he says. Get out of here. I can't _believe_ you'd do this!"

"But-" Scott looked over at his sister now, still in Eric's grip, still shocked and pissed at the same time.

Lilly reached up to touch the Sheriff's arm. "Eric, please. Let him go," she asked softly.

Eric fumed and tightened his hold on her brother's throat—he was no match for the thousand-year-old vampire, even though Scott was not _only_ a hunter… Surprisingly, it appeared that neither Lilly nor Marylin even knew.

The latter watched at the door, shaking with fear. Though it took another long moment, finally Eric yielded to Lillian's plea and let Scott go, but not before summoning Pam and Chow.

"Escort this mongrel out. See that he doesn't return."

"_Mongrel_?" Lillian repeated. "Why would you call him-" Then, she stopped and regarded at her brother, face falling.

Pam and Chow grabbed Scott, one on each arm, and started leading him to the door.

"Fuckin' werewolves," muttered a thin vampire near Lilly. "Pro'lly got flees now."

"Disgusting," said another.

Her mouth dropped open as she watched her brother get shoved out the door of the club.

Marylin wrapped her arm around him and hurriedly helped him to their car, while Eric's cronies watched and waited for them to get the hell out. Taking the wheel, Marylin drove straight out of there without a single glance back.

With Scott gone, most of the vampires resumed their hobnobbing, ignoring the girl that stared at the open door. She was unable to process what had just happened and its implications.

But she didn't want to see anyone. She wanted to be alone.

Lillian could feel her eyes brimming, and rather than risk them spilling there in front of everyone, she left. She left to her lavish room and shut the door on what she hoped wasn't the truth.

* * *

They were about five miles outside the club when Marylin pulled the truck to the side of the road and stopped. Something had gone _very_ wrong back there.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Scott. His voice was still rough, alarmingly so.

"I-I don't understand. Why did they react that way?" she said, and trembled so much that it surfaced in her voice. "He threw you _so hard_. He could've _killed_ you."

The uncertainty forced Scott to look over at her, and as he saw the expression on her face, his instantly softened. "Marylin, I'm okay," he told her gently. "He wouldn't have killed me."

"Yes, he would've! You can't be okay, Scott. Your back, let me see your back," Marylin begged and reached for his shirt.

He stopped her hands, confused. "Mar, you didn't hear them?" With her hand cradled in one of his, he gently stroked the back of it with his thumb. "You don't understand, do you?"

"What?" the woman stared at him.

It dawned on her. Of course she heard what the vampires said on their way out. She heard but wanted to pretend she hadn't. It wasn't true, it couldn't have been. She paled.

"No…"

"It happened—about three months ago," he told her quietly, his eyes never leaving hers. "I haven't seen anyone since then. Not Luke, Josh, Bobby—no one. But, when I got the call that you two were in trouble…" The man swallowed, anguish in his gaze. "I had just to see you, Mar. I didn't care how long it's been."

"Three months ago, on a full moon?" As if she didn't know when the beasts came out.

"Yeah," he said. "I was…hunting one. And it—it snuck up on me."

She took her hand and backed away from him, frozen with horror. "Just like your _father._"

"I'm _not_ like him!" he snapped suddenly. Then he turned away from her and fell back into his seat, running an agitated hand through his hair. "I'm not going to abandon you guys."

He breathed in and out. Then spoke again:

"I'm nothing like him." His words were calmer this time but still held an edge. "But you're going to run away from me now, aren't you?"

Sudden tears in her eyes, Marylin was already opening the door and getting out of the car. She ran to the other side, choked on a sob, wrought with fear, guilt, and anger all at once.

He was a _werewolf_… A beast, a monster—and neither she nor Lilly even suspected! But as Mar began reaching for her gun, she couldn't lay her finger on the trigger. She didn't know what to do.

Scott watched her from the open window and didn't make a single move towards her. If she was going to shoot him, he wasn't going to stop her. He'd been suffering for the last three months, fighting for control. He'd finally felt like maybe he found a reason to stick around when he'd seen Marylin and his sister, but if they denied him, what was the point?

"Marylin?" he asked quietly. "I'm sorry…"

She covered her face and cried so hard that she couldn't face him. If she only hadn't left a year ago, he would never have been bitten on her watch. It snuck up on him because he'd been alone. Hunters never hunted werewolves alone. God, where were Luke and Josh? Where was _she_ and Lilly during the time?

Her sobs were too much. Soundlessly, Scott slid from the truck and wrapped her up in his arms. She struggled against his embrace but he refused to let her go.

Over and over, he repeated: "It's okay… Shhh… Mar, it's okay…"

After a while, Marylin managed to calm, was left quivering, staring at the dusty ground at their feet, as cars passed by on the road. No matter how much she denied it before, she still cared about him. Even if they weren't together anymore.

"I-it's all my fault," she muttered.

Scott shifted Marylin in his arms so that he could force her to look at him.

"Marylin, listen to me. None of this is your fault. _I _was the one that got myself bit, not you." He lifted a hand to her cheek where tears glistened in the light from the streetlamps. "Please, this is my fault. Don't blame yourself."

She shook her head as she stared up at him. "No, Scott… If we never left."

"If you never left, I might not have made it at all," he told her softly. "If you'd have been there… I would have had the courage to…to make sure that the infection_ wouldn't have taken hold_." The tone of finality in his voice left no doubt in her mind as to what he meant. "I'm here now because I needed to see you again."

"I'm sorry," Marylin still felt horrible—about everything. "I'm sorry I acted that way."

Scott let go of her arms and lifted both of his hands to cup her face.

"Marylin, you have nothing to apologize for," he said and held her still, forced her to keep looking at him. "Sometimes it's hard for me to put your happiness above your safety." His thumb drifted over the corner of her mouth, lightly stroking the crease.

What he said was an understatement. That was the reason she and Lilly left.

"What do we do when it happens?" Marylin asked.

"I'll leave when it happens. I won't risk you." Though Scott tried to fight it back, he couldn't keep the _hope_ from welling inside him. "You won't have to worry about it. You won't even see it."

If hunters found him, they'd stop at nothing. And Scott would have no control. Marylin couldn't bear to imagine him dead.

"Where will you _go_?"

"I'll find somewhere," he told her with a small smile. "Don't worry, I've been doing it for a couple of months now."

Sniffing, the woman wiped her eyes and gingerly touched his chest, as if to test his safety. He felt different, stronger, bigger even. This is why he changed so much. But was any of it for the better? Had he really gained some control?

"Have—have you killed anyone?"

Scott shook his head. "No, I haven't." He'd only been turned three months prior. It wasn't while that long, but he was confident in his amount of control.

"Okay." She had to trust him. There was nothing else she could do.

"I would never hurt you, Mar. I would never hurt either you or Lilly," he swore to her.

Marylin looked at Scott once more and her eyes were clear of any more tears. "I believe you," she said.

She was too close for him to stop himself. _Those_ were the words he had been waiting for months now. Ever so gently, he kissed her—the touch of his lips to hers was feather-light and just as soft. There was no demand or yearning, just an innocent desire.

Though the fear still resided within her, Marylin felt an old spark rekindle, sending a flutter through her. It was the last thing she expected… And when they broke apart, she let out a breath and leaned into his arms. He held her, standing there with her.

For a moment it felt like they'd never been separate.

* * *

She hadn't thought it was possible. Lillian's world had once again been turned upside down. She'd never thought that such a thing could happen, especially to Scott, who was both her big brother and, often times, idol.

Spread out on her back, Lilly stared up at the ceiling from where she lay on the plush, deep red-colored bed that Eric had loaned her. Her eyes were glazed, her mind turned inward. Inside her head, she fought a war of emotions, trying to decide if she was more angry, hurt, or sad. Yes, she feared for her brother and what he had become, but she'd also seen how much of a hypocrite he was, the thought of which made her stomach twist.

Her thoughts were jarred as a knock on the door suddenly sounded in the room. Lilly's eyes flickered over to it, followed by the slow turn of her head.

The door handle twisted and, as the metal tongue pulled back, the door slowly opened. Lillian sat up on the bed and watched Eric appear in the doorway. She couldn't help it—at the sight of him, guilt washed over her. She closed her eyes, hanging her head.

"You ran off," said the man, and to her surprise there was no anger to his remark. "I thought you would come back."

She didn't look at him. Softly, she said, "I didn't know. I'd seen him at least three times and I _didn't know_."

Locking the door, Eric sighed and lingered there a moment. He stewed in the remnants of his aggravation, but it wasn't directed towards her. He'd known by her reaction that she hadn't been aware, so none of it was her fault.

"I'm surprised that he managed to conceal it from you even for that long. He'd been newly turned, I could tell."

"I know, some hunter I am, right?" Lilly replied quickly and with some heat. "I just can't believe him. All this time he goes off about how I _shouldn't_ be spending time with you, and all the while he's sitting there playing Mr. Innocent and being a damn hypocrite!" She could feel herself starting to get worked up again, growing more agitated as spoke.

No longer able to sit, the blonde stood, subsequently placing the bed between them. Annoyed, she flicked some wavy hair over her shoulder, wanting it out of her way. She was still in the rather short black nightclub dress Eric had made his progeny give her.

"You should know that we don't tolerate his kind. We are not civil and have never been," Eric explained as he observed her fume, warily approaching. "And neither do I like trouble in my establishment."

"Because _clearly_ I welcomed him in, Eric," she said. She was already starting to regret her theatrics. "I understand that he's not welcome here and I would never ask you to change that." How could Lilly? Even if she hadn't seen the earlier display, she knew that vampires and werewolves didn't get along. "But he is my brother, Eric. That's something you need to understand, too."

"A brother who lied to you," the Sheriff reiterated tightly as he stood before Lillian. Rigid, he clenched his fists in his sudden need to defend her. "There should be no forgiveness for a deceit like that."

Shaking her head, Lillian gritted her jaws and closed her eyes.

"No there shouldn't, and yet there _is_," she said softly, while tension still radiated from her. It was then she realized he was too close. Quickly, she stepped back from him, knowing that if he touched her, she'd be undone. Her own heart beat in her ears with adrenaline surging through her. She had the urge to hit something. She kept herself from doing so.

"I can't _not_ forgive him," she told Eric and looked up at him. Chained fury danced in her eyes.

The vampire slowly crossed the few steps between them, and with the bed behind her, this time she had nowhere else to move.

"If he comes to my territory again, if he returns for you, there will be greater consequences," he said. Eric lifted a hand and caressed her cheek, as gently as before, tucking back a lock of her hair. His gaze smoldered, glinting like a cool, liquid blaze. It sent shivers through her at once. "I won't allow him to take you from me, Lilly."

She stared up at him in stun, wondering if she'd heard him correctly. "Are you asking me to choose between you and my brother?"

Scott hadn't been a part of her life for months now, and yet even in her anger, she wasn't sure she could give him up.

"He had abandoned you, hadn't not?" asked Eric. The man leaned in but instead of kissing her, lingered over her mouth, stroking her neck. "_I_ would never do the same to you. I would never lie to you."

He placed a sweet kiss on her lips, to seal his promise. "After all that you've done for me..."

She looked up at him speculatively but now looked almost amused.

"Does that work on all of your women?" she asked softly, her voice no louder than a whisper. He was distracting her from her hurt.

"Not as easily on you, it seems." Chuckling slightly, Eric smirked and gave her another kiss, holding it a moment longer this time, to coax her more. His hand gently slipped around her waist. "But I'm not as truthful with them as I am with you."

His sincerity was more genuine than she'd ever seen—there was no slyness, no amusement. It was a rare emotion he shared with only a few...and _she_ was one of them. An unordinary hunter.

Lillian lifted her arms to boldly loop around his neck. How could Sookie not like him? The word she used had been repulsive, but when Lilly looked up at Eric, her stomach fluttered.

Stretching up slowly, she pressed her lips to his, wanting to feel them again. He was such a solid presence and one she wanted more of. Only motivated by this, Eric kissed her ardently, exploring her mouth impatiently—he'd been waiting for days until they were alone again. How he managed to restrain himself before, the man didn't know, but now he refused to let her go. And when she matched his eager…

Wrapping both his arms around Lilly's frame, Eric guided her back, till her knees touched the edge of the mattress. There, he eased her down and gave her neck a tender touch, searching her eyes for any hesitance.

"Are you ever afraid of me?"

Her eyes opened and regarded him. He reflected more than just the big, scary vampire that many thought him to be.

"Yes," she admitted, not feeling embarrassed in the least by her answer. "But I don't think for all the reasons you might think." She moved one arm from around his neck and gently let her fingertips drift over his features. "You're more than a vampire, Eric, though there is that to consider," she told him as her middle finger traced the line of his brow and then wove downwards so that her thumb could caress his cheekbone. "I think you try to hide it sometimes, but you're a very passionate man in a quiet way, and you emanate power in every move you make."

Slightly surprised, though also impressed, Eric smiled and teased Lilly with a tender peck under her jaw.

"So I…intimidate you?" he inquired. It was more of a statement. His breath danced against her skin as she closed her eyes. He made his way down her neck, laying soft, electric kisses.

"You could say that," she replied with a grin, shivering.

"I admit I find that very…_empowering_," he informed her.

"You would." She laughed softly while her hands moved from his face to entangle with his hair.

When he reached as far as her blouse would allow, he returned to her mouth and seized it just as fervently once more. His strong arms wound about her, slipping under her shirt, wanting it off. There was something empowering indeed, especially about the prospect of charming a hunter…particularly one such as her. Eric wanted to possess her, all of her. And he wasn't the only one that wanted more. Lillian's hands moved to his waist, tugging the tails of his black dress shirt out of his slacks.

Catching his wave, her kiss intensified, while she rewarded him with a soft groan to inadvertently feed his male ego. Both their clothes fell to the floor and Eric found himself quite satisfied with what he saw as he lay over her. Her naked body radiated wonderful warmth, and his coolness gave her pleasant chills.

She was decidedly well-endowed, her body faintly muscled, her skin lightly tan and delicious. She was incredible, not at all like the ghastly, skinny broads that frequented his club. Lilly was much, _much_ more. She was a woman he hoped not to lose. She would be his and he'd make sure of it.

Eric assaulted her neck again, his fangs extending this time, lured by her pulse, which quivered from pleasure. The man glanced at her and utter desire flashed across his face.

Lilly opened her eyes and languidly smiled, feeling like a beautiful woman in his arms with the way he looked at her. But when she saw his fangs, she paused and her expression changed. It wasn't one of fear but of the prey recognizing the predator. She watched him, felt instincts kick in as her hands moved to his bare shoulders. She didn't push him away but held him still.

Eric felt her tense and breathed in her ear: "Don't be afraid. I wouldn't hurt you."

She believed him. But her hands still refused to move away from him, her heart increasing its wild beating.

"Eric," she said softly. Could she do it? Everything inside her screamed that she couldn't. She was a hunter! She knew better than this…

He sighed—she was nervous, but he'd expected it, for he hadn't glamoured her. He was trying to succeed without it. Though perhaps she needed more assurance. Reaching and taking her hand, Eric cradled it to his mouth and ran his lips across her knuckles.

"It is a lover's exchange," he explained gently, and then kissed her palm. "Not for feeding."

There was always the possibility that as soon as she let him, that would be it. His interest would leave and she would be left as one of his many hundreds, possibly thousands of castoffs. But she remembered the look on his face as he'd spoken with her that night and felt _something_ in response stir inside of her.

Gently, Lilly moved her free hand up to his cheek and leaned her head upward to kiss him. When she broke away, she let her head settle back on her pillow and tilted her face to the side, all while looking up at him. She could be brave for him, if only for this once.

Eric was careful, though he couldn't help a smile. He returned to her neck and kissed it, right above her collarbone. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off, then he would never get his chance again.

He barred his teeth, inching them to her skin, and then—

She gasped and saw and _felt _something akin to an epiphany.

This was the end.

But if _this_ was the end, it was worth it.

Her mouth fell open as a moan escaped from deep within her throat. Her eyes closed... It was incredible. She'd expected the pain to be overwhelming, but instead, Eric's bite had her toes curling, it felt so perfect.

She went languid beneath him, all tension drained from her body. A sultry smile spread across her lips. Her thoughts drifted, relaxing—vanishing, in fact, to be replaced by complete bliss. Pleased, Eric gently drank, her blood tasting far better than he imagined. _Surprising_ him. He savored ever drop he allowed himself to take.

By then Lillian was high above the clouds…and the night seemed to last far beyond the reaches of daylight.

...

* * *

Though Scott had every reason to feel more positive that morning, he couldn't help but feel a little leery as well. When he had bid goodnight to Marylin the night before, she'd seemed stable for at least that moment, but that didn't mean she was all right.

With a cup of coffee in his hand, he stood in front of her door and gently rapped on it, hoping she wasn't still sleeping. If she had been, she wasn't any longer. A minute or two later, the door unlocked and Marylin greeted him, slightly bleary but not annoyed, at least. Instead she might've appeared partly hesitant.

She hadn't forgotten the night before, not one bit of it, yet then, after a moment nervously stepped aside to let him in. "Hi."

"I brought you some coffee," he said as he offered her the cup. "I was thinking we'd go and talk with your friends today to see what they know about that vampire. Maybe a way to get past him?" The man moved over to dresser and leaned against it as he regarded her. "Once we get Lillian, we'll be able to leave."

"Yeah." Marylin rubbed at her eyes, unusually quiet. "I'll call them. Maybe they can meet us here," she said and then looked down at her cup, taking a small sip. "Thanks…for this."

"Do you still take it like that?" he asked her, his tone softening ever-so-slightly, and when she nodded, a small smile formed on the corner of his mouth. "That's a good idea, having them meet us here. You do want to leave here, right?"

She looked away and forced herself not to frown. They'd been in Louisiana for over two weeks now. They met some nice people, made friends…some closer than others. But perhaps it was time to move on again. Marylin couldn't get attached, even though Lilly seemed to have already.

"There's nothing else to do in this hick state. I want to go back home." Marylin went to the table, put her coffee down, and took out her journal, where a page had been added about the maenad.

"Let's go back home and take a break."

If she wanted a break, then Scott was _not_ going to try and sway her away from it. Besides, Colorado, where their home was, was one of the best places for him. There was plenty of space, and up in the mountains strange things happened all the time. Bears, wolves, cougars. And lots of deer. It would be much easier for him to survive there.

Marylin seemed sad to him, which pulled him to her like a leash.

"Hey," he said gently as he placed a light hand on the back of her neck. "We'll meet with those two today, get Lillian back tonight, pick up your car tomorrow and head out, okay?" He tried to smile for her benefit. "Okay?"

The woman nodded, glad her face was hidden. She quickly schooled it before turning around, holding the journal idly in her hand. "Maybe…maybe we can stay home until the holidays," she offered.

It was the middle of November, but the south made it feel like summer again, which Marylin now wanted to escape. She wanted to be somewhere normal, at least more normal than where they were now.

Scott smiled and stepped away from her to look out the window.

"You know… I don't know why I thought we'd get Lilly tonight. Why don't we go and get her now and then go and check on your car? We can be out of town long before nightfall and that way don't have to worry about anyone following."

"So without calling Sookie and Jason?" Marylin asked, a little apprehensive. "Though the vampires are probably sleeping, someone else could be guarding the place."

She was probably right, and Scott acknowledged it with a nod. Though they weren't hunters, Sookie and Jason would know more about these vampires and the club than they did.

"Then we'll still meet with them. I'm sure they understand the danger that Lilly's put herself in and will agree with us."

"Yeah." Marylin glanced away. "But I don't want the same thing as yesterday happening. If they wake up and see you…" While she didn't know Eric as well Lilly unfortunately did, Marylin knew the vampire was vicious—vicious enough to kill Scott without a care, even towards his sister. "They won't let you go."

"That's why we're going to do it during the day, while their off in their hole in the ground, we'll sneak in, grab Lilly and go, and by the time they wake up, we'll already be miles away," he explained as he walked towards her and sat on the bed. "It's the only way to do this, Mar. We'll be able to get away."

"Okay." She tossed the journal back onto the table and took back her coffee, to swallow down the rest of her worry.

* * *

_In some Shreveport diner…_

"So she's been glamoured by a vampire?" Jason said, already clenching his fists, plotting revenge. He tried to give those bloodsuckers a chance he tried, but after they took Lilly… That chance was gone.

"We don't know for sure," answered Marylin, looking at Scott, who sat beside her in the booth. "She could've been. Maybe she isn't. She just—we don't know what's going through her head."

"Before she left, she didn' look glamoured," said Sookie, cautious about not telling her secret this time. "I woulda known if she was, I've been 'round vampires so much. They're like zombies. Lilly was just…depressed. I tried to help, but she wouldn't let me in."

"You say you've been around them," Scott began, watching Sookie carefully. "Do you know the vampires at this club?"

"Why? You thinkin' we should go bust her out?" Jason asked him, already sitting up in his spot as though he were ready to leap out right then.

Though Scott approved of his enthusiasm and his desire to help Lillian, he did want to hand the boy a bottle of Ritalin.

"Do you think the vampires would glamour her to keep her there? The certain one looked like he might." Scott's eyes narrowed, almost immediately darkening as he remembered the tall blond.

"Eric?" Sookie asked. "He's the Sheriff of this area. He could do almost anythin'… But I really don't know. Lilly…trusts him."

"What happened in Dallas that they got so close?" Marylin questioned. "What the hell went on there?"

"Nothin', I swear," the girl promised. "She helped us rescue Godric, the sheriff in that area…then we left. If somethin' went on between them, I had no idea. Lilly didn't tell me anythin'."

"_Nothing_?"

"They must've kept it secret." Sookie looked at Scott as honestly as she could. "Look, I tried to warn her. I told her how dangerous he was, that she needed to be careful, but she didn' listen. Even Bill went to talk to Eric."

"And still this vampire pursued my sister?" Scott asked, feeling his anger start to rise.

"Um… Well you should know that I think she mighta been inta me," Jason told Scott very solemnly. "So, she musta been glamoured."

Scott watched the man and couldn't hide the thought that if that was the case, maybe Lilly was better off with Eric.

"Did you fill her head about what it's like to be…with vampires?" Scott asked Sookie in accusation.

"What? No! Lilly agreed to come with us to Dallas, it was her decision." Now Sookie was becoming annoyed herself—how dare this man blame her! "Mine and Bill's relationship is our business and I don' go around tellin' people what we do," she said firmly. "I didn't influence her."

Marylin sighed irritably and fell back into her seat, barely restraining her own resentment. "Okay, maybe not, but just by her coming with you, something happened to her. She was never like this before. I should never let her go, I should've stopped her!"

"We needed her. She helped save lives. Without her, I don't know what woulda happened," Sookie told them both. "It could've been a disaster, a national disaster!"

But Scott held up his hand to fend off more explanation.

"Whatever happened, happened. What I need to know is this: Does this Eric and the other vampires stay at their club, or do they live elsewhere?" Though it was light out, if the vampires lived there at the club, it would increase the risk factor.

"No, I think they're all there… He and Pam, at least," Sookie answered, Jason grimacing at the thought of them. "The place is huge in reality."

Marylin turned to Scott, both worry and anxiety on her face. How they were going to do this, she didn't know. But Jason was finally standing, holding out a fist in determination.

"You got those guns n' knives of yours, right? Silver?" The hunters acknowledged this warily. "Good, 'cause that's all we need. Sook an' I are gonna go with you."

"Wait, Jason, we're not goin' to kill them," Sookie protested. "If they don't harm us, we can't harm then. Marylin, Scott, we can't start anythin' here. We _live_ here."

"We won't have to," Scott told her honestly. "We've got plenty of daylight left and we're going to get Lillian while the fangs are sleeping." Knowing that they could use more people, he looked over at Jason and forced a grin.

"You ready to do this?" So what if Scott was using him.

"Let's do it!" Jason yelled before he turned around and started heading for the door.

Scott looked over at Marylin and smiled.

"We'll be on the road home soon," he whispered to her, veiled affection in his voice. She nodded timidly and followed him and the others out of the diner.

* * *

Lillian turned over onto her back and stretched out under the covers, smiling with her eyes closed. She hadn't slept as well as she had the night before in a very long time, and though when she looked over and saw that her bed was empty, she found that she couldn't be disappointed. Eric might have been gone to sleep the day away in his own room, but she still felt a tingling, content feeling buzzing about inside her. He had caused it, after all, made her feel so utterly happy.

Lillian lifted her hand to the tender spot on her neck and gingerly touched the skin around the bite, only to find that it really didn't bother her all that much. In fact, had she not known, she might not have even realized that it was there. Lifting her wrist, she saw that it was already noon. She never would have guessed since the only source of light in the room was a soft, yellow glowing lamp on a far dresser.

The only proof she had of the time, rather than her watch, was her now gurgling stomach. The idea of food sounded like a good one, but…Eric's bed was so comfortable that she curled up under the covers all over again. She smiled like a giddy little kid as she burrowed her face in the pillows.

* * *

"I 'member this place at night…when I first came here one time, there was that creepy vampire lady playin' bouncer," said Jason, who cautiously approached the front door of _Fangtasia_ with the others.

"_Sorry we're dead_" was hanging in front as usual, but Scott ignored it and started picking the lock with Marylin.

"You were here before?" Sookie asked her brother in a hushed voice. "You never told me, Jason! Why in the world would you come here at night?"

"Uh… I don't really remember…now that I think about it," he lied. "But don' worry, no one bit me or anythin'. S'all good, Sook." His sister only sighed.

Drawn by the sound of the picking, the door suddenly swung inward. When Ginger saw who it was, she immediately ran to try to slam the door back shut.

"No! N-no! Yer not allowed in here. Go 'way!" But try as she might, the door wouldn't shut. Looking down, Ginger saw a booted foot jammed in her way. "I said gittout!"

Scott pushed and she scampered back. As the group filed in, the waitress made a dainty dash to the back of the bar and snagged something from under the register—with trembling hands she swiftly aimed a miniscule revolver at them.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a sec-" started Jason.

"Don't move, s-stay where ya are or I'll shoot." Ginger slowly walked back around, thumbing back the hammer. "I will, watch!"

"I think we started off on the wrong-"

Two things happened. The first of which was the cushion on the back of a velvet couch exploded, making feathers and fabric shoot out into the air. The second was that Ginger screamed and dropped the gun right after. Scott didn't hesitate and ran for the pistol and kicked it across the floor to Marylin.

"I like your aim," he told the waitress in a droll tone of voice. Marylin dismantled the revolver, popping out the bullets.

Ginger froze and ran back around the bar to grab something else, but there were no other weapons. "You're gonna wake him up! And-and when he does, he's gonna kill you! All ya'll!"

"Ginger, we're not here to cause any trouble. We just want Lilly back," explained Sookie, who tried to approach her, but the waitress suddenly raised a bottle of cheap liquor, as if tempted to throw it.

"Stay back! Y-you ain't allowed any further!" Ginger yelled.

"Put the bottle down," Jason advised with a raised finger. "That would be a waste of whiskey."

The waitress looked at the bottle and her brows furrowed. He was right. A little stumped on what to do, she placed it back on the bar and looked around for something else to throw at them, but all she found was a little knife used to cut limes.

"You wan' her back?"

"Yeah," said Marylin, taking a hesitant step. "Where is she?"

Ginger paused a moment to consider helping them. If Lilly was gone…then things would go back to normal in the club. If she was gone, then Eric would be single again. The waitress gulped, glancing at the hallway that led to the back of the building.

"If Eric finds out you were here…"

"No one's gonna find out anything, Ginger," Sookie promised her gently. "She in back somewhere?"

"Yeah, he gave her his extra room," the waitress replied, her voice dripping with disdain. "You sure no one's gonna find out? 'Cause I'll deny it all," she told them as she headed down the hallway, indicating that they should follow her with a wave of her arm.

_Throw y'all under the bus if he finds out. Maybe I could tell him that she invited them! Then he'd definitely get rid of her._

Scott looked at Marylin, before back at the other two and then gestured for Marylin to go ahead of him. Sookie gave her brother a small glance and both of them followed the hunters. But before they even got to the room, they found Lilly down the hall, having left upon hearing the commotion. They were clearly the last people she wanted to see.

The woman huffed sharply and looked past Ginger, who looked like she'd been discovered to the others.

"You _can't_ be here," Lilly said. She shooed them back down the hall towards the club. "_Please_ tell me you haven't come here to commit suicide, because I won't be a part of it. Figure out another way to carry it out," she said once they reached the bar.

"It's time to go, Lillian, and before you argue with me, you should know that everyone here agrees with me," Scott told her firmly.

"Lilly, please. Let's go," beseeched Marylin. "We're going home, back to Colorado."

Though Sookie didn't like the sound of that, not wanting to lose her friend, she knew it was for Lilly's own good. "Before Eric wakes up," Sookie said.

"You too, Sookie?" Lilly asked her, betrayal and confusion on her face. "I'd expect this out of Scott and Marylin, they couldn't understand, but _you_? How could you be such a hypocrite?"

Though that made Sookie pause, she then shook her head. "Lilly, we already talked about this. And even…even Bill's worried. "

"Me too," Jason added, already riling up in his concern. "What did that bloodsucker do to you? Did 'e hurt you?"

"No," Lilly replied, using every shred of patience she possessed to not snap at them. "Eric has not done anything. In fact, he's been a perfect gentleman. Now go. The last thing we need is another incident." She looked over to her brother and shook her head, deciding that she wanted to ignore Sookie. "_You_ need to leave the most. He won't give you another chance, Scott."

"Do you realize who you're talking to? I'm your _brother_! Aren't you even a little bothered by the fact he wants to kill me?"

"Of course I am!" Lilly shot back at him with exasperation, "but do you realize how hypocritical, how selfish, how blinded you are? I appreciate that you want to look out for me, but I know what I'm doing and I trust him."

Ginger looked back and forth amongst them. _Just take her already. Then he'll be all mine!_

"Oh, take a cold shower!" hissed Sookie.

"Lilly, after what we've been taught, after everything our parents told us…warned us about, you trust something like _him_?" Marylin said incredulously, taking a step towards her best friend, ashamed for her.

"_Someone_?" Lillian suddenly yelled at her friend. "Eric's not a thing! He's a person! And what about _him_, huh? Why aren't you screaming at Scott to get away from you, Marylin?" In her flustered rage, Lilly gesticulated wildly, pointing at her brother. "I listened to more than what they said, because I'm not standing here refusing to see reason and saying, "Wow, that's a vampire. What an evil _thing_!" We were taught to use our heads—stop judging!"

Marylin glanced back at Scott, stunned and pale.

"Lilly, even Bill, who's-who's known Eric for a long time said he was trouble," she tried once more, but already felt effectively rebuked. "And Scott…it wasn't his fault."

Scott had enough. Daylight was burning and they had a lot of ground to cover. He stepped towards his sister and grabbed her by the arm to haul her out the door, fully prepared to lift her over his shoulder if he had to. But something stopped him.

"_You_-"

Shocked by the expression on his face, Lilly didn't bother pulling away from him.

Before she could stop him, Scott reached up and grabbed her collar, pulling it back away from her neck, and sure enough, there for all to see were two small pinpricks. Her brother leapt away from her like he was afraid of some disease.

"You let him _bite you_. And you call yourself a hunter? You're a_ fangbanger…_" his words were soft but hit Lilly like a ton of bricks.

The others gasped, Jason swearing in particular, horrified. "That son of a-!" Sookie's face fell. If Eric bit her, then that could only mean one thing—Sookie hoped they hadn't…exchanged.

But they had.

Marylin stared at Lillian, frozen, so stunned that she could barely formulate her words. "Oh, God. Lil-"

"W-what?" Lilly asked, trying to stand her ground. "Yes, he bit me," she told them and, as if they needed proof, pulled her entire shoulder out of her button up so that they could get a clear look. "And guess what! I liked it and I hope he does it again sometime!"

Scott shuddered when he saw it. Lillian lost it.

"Get out!" she told them all. "Get out and don't come back. Go back to your home in Colorado. Obviously it's no longer mine."

"Lillian!" shouted Maryin. "No, no, don't say that-" They couldn't leave her. How could they leave her? Marylin turned to Scott, silently pleading them, but he already seemed to be abandoning his sister.

The Stackhouses were astonished into silence. Scott turned around and walked straight out of the club. He couldn't believe that his sister slept with the enemy. It was disgusting.

"Get out!" Lillian yelled at the rest. Her eyes welling and a couple of tears rolled down her cheeks. "You've made your point, Marylin, but you know what's strange? A vampire, someone that is supposed to hate hunters, was willing to overlook what I am. And yet the human, who is a hunter, condemns him without cause just because he's a vampire. Who do you think is more human?"

Lilly lifted a hand to her eyes and quickly tried to wipe them dry. "Get out."

Brine filling her own gaze, Marylin gave her one last look and left. She left and didn't look back, while Sookie lingered, only to have Lillian dismiss her. Jason simply had no words he was so disappointed. He'd thought she liked him…but he couldn't have been more wrong.

"Jason," Lilly said, feeling guilt stab at her when she saw the look on his face. But the man turned his back on her and left, too. Even Ginger had escaped at some point to leave her completely abandoned…

But wasn't that what she had wanted? She had told them to leave.

Lillian heard a car's motor rev up and drive away. It only made the tears fall harder. She looked around at the club and found that she couldn't stay, at least not then. Without a second thought, she ran out the door.

* * *

_Sookie and Jason head back to Bon Temps…_

The car ride was silent. Scott couldn't believe what had happened. It wasn't until they reached the hotel that he finally spoke.

"We'll head to Bon Temps in a little while to see if your car is done. If it is, we'll head on out and drive through the night."

Marylin didn't argue and only nodded, willing herself not to cry. She silently got out of his car and slowly went to her room. She was so…confounded that it took several attempts to open her door. But when she looked into the dim chamber, the woman found she couldn't move.

They couldn't leave Lilly, even with what she'd done, even with the crime she committed. How could they just abandon her?

But then…hadn't she abandoned them in turn, by her choices?

Arms came around her from behind, encasing her in their warmth as Scott then boldly lowered his face to her hair. He was hurting far more than he let on. He couldn't believe what had just happened, how he had turned his back on his baby sister.

Marylin clasped his hands and held them tenderly, slowly leaning back against him. His warm breath comforted her slightly, gently warming her cheek, briefly stilling the moment. But then she closed her eyes and swallowed with uncertainty—what were they really going to do?

"Scott?" she asked.

He nuzzled her head just above her ear and sighed. "I know. What other choice do we have?" he softly asked. "Mar, tell me what to do…" His voice broke ever-so-slightly.

"I-I don't know," she whispered shakily. "I don't know… But we can't go without her, even after what she did, we can't."

"I know. Marylin, I think I lost her. I should have told you before, but—how could she like him? He drinks from her." Perhaps there was something in the female mind that he just didn't understand and Marylin could shed some light on it. But she didn't know either. She turned in his arms so they could step further inside, closing the door behind them. Marylin looked away, frowned as she thought back to what Lillian said—maybe they _were_ hypocrites.

"Yet you—_you're_ not human either," Marylin said to Scott. "You're dangerous too, yet I'm giving _you_ a chance."

"You want to give _him_ a chance?" Scott instantly tensed. He didn't take his arms back from around her. "They're vermin—_pests_." Yes, he was no longer human, but at least he wasn't a plague.

"I-I know, Scott," she looked from his face to his chest, confused and doubtful. "But what would they say about you? What would others say? Why am I trusting _you_?"

Why wasn't Marylin shoving him away, telling him to leave? He was a werewolf—and yet he managed to still stir something within her. It made her guiltily start to rethink her views.

Though Scott heard very similar things from Lilly, when he heard them from Marylin it gave him a pause. She was right, and he knew it.

"So…are you willing to meet him then? To convince Lillian that you'll give him a chance?"

Maybe that was how they could get Lillian back. If they convinced her that they didn't care about her vampire and just missed her, maybe they could pull her away from him. Her place wasn't with Eric. It was with them, her _family_.

"I-" Marylin had to admit she was slightly afraid of Eric, with all the things she heard about him. "I don't know if he'd give _us_ a chance, especially you," she said quietly.

"I'll stay in the car." Technically that would still put him on Eric's territory, but the vampire would have to deal. Scott was willing to swallow his pride to a degree to get his sister back, but he was not going to let Marylin go in there with no backup.

"What if we met at a more neutral place?"

"Where?"

"Somewhere here in Shreveport. A place that's not his."

If it would get her friend to return… "Okay. Tomorrow?"

Scott nodded. "If he even blinks in your direction," he threatened, knew she wouldn't mistake his meaning.

Marylin raised her hand to his arm and gave a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "He won't, Scott. I won't let him," she promised softly, his concern warming her greatly. "Don't worry."

He visibly calmed at her assurance, as though her touch was all he needed to hold onto his humanity. "Tomorrow then," he agreed and leaned his head down to hers so that he could kiss her forehead.

Then she embraced him, as if suddenly worried he was going to go. Marylin held him, remembering the night before, that flame burning brighter this time. Though they made a decision to try and get Lilly back again, Marylin didn't want to be alone.

She…she needed Scott to be with her.

She looked at him and whispered, "Will you stay with me?"

Scott had the grace to not jump up and down cheering and smiled with a nod.

"If that's what you want," he whispered as he kissed her. Though he'd done the same thing the night before, this time felt infinitely better. His touch was gentle, but there was no masking the passion that he restrained inside of him.

Marylin swallowed and lifted her hand to his cheek, tentatively stroking his beard. It was rougher than she remembered it to be, but she didn't mind it. In fact, she was only attracted more. She missed him. She missed his presence by her side, his need to protect her.

Why had she tried to convince herself otherwise?

"Do you?" she asked.

He chuckled lightly. "Of course. Of course I do, Mar."

She gave Scott a tender kiss back and then searched his blue eyes, finding them brighter than before. "I'm…I'm glad that you found me."

Scott gazed at her as though waiting for reality to come crashing down on him. When it didn't happen, his arms tightened around her. Eagerly, he claimed her lips for his own and found all of his memories coming back to life.

"I'll always find you, Mar," he whispered. He turned them around so he could brace her back against the door. She slipped a hand under his jacket, his words weakening her knees, irrupting tendrils of mad flutters inside her.

She caught another kiss in a whirlwind of longing and whimpered with unexpected joy. "I know I didn't tell you before, but I really did miss you," she muttered against his lips. "I missed you, Scott."

He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, smiling.

"You don't know how bad I've wanted to hear that," he murmured. Then he stole yet another kiss. "Thinking of you, Mar. You're what got me through it… Without you, I wouldn't have made it."

"I won't leave you again," Marylin swore to him, embolden greatly—she meant it, even though guilt still wound inside her. "I promise."

"That's all I ever wanted," he replied. Without giving her any warning, Scott took a step back and easily swung her up into his arms. She was a feather, and to show it, he grinned down at her. He chuckled and confidently told her:

"There are some advantages." And he walked them to the single bed.

Though it startled her a bit, Marylin brought her arms around his shoulders and didn't discover herself scared. He would be fine for another week…until the full moon. But until then, she would try not to think about it. Otherwise she would begin worrying too soon. She wanted to bask in Scott's affection, stay with him as long as she could.

Before either of them said another word, she pulled Scott's mouth back to hers. Without taking the kiss away, he settled her down onto the bed and followed her down partway. Bracing himself on his knees, he shrugged his jacket down off of his shoulders and tossed it onto the floor. His body was warm, much warmer than Marylin remembered, and with how he was kissing her, it only promised to get hotter.

His hands were insistent yet gentle as they traveled the edge of her shirt and stroked the smooth skin of her belly, giving her goosebumps. Marylin broke away for just a second, to take off her own coat, and gripped Scott's back and urged him closer. She felt electrified by his radiating heat. She urged and he obeyed, crowded her body with his own. He made her melt, both figuratively and literally. There between her legs.

He trailed kisses along her jaw and neck, lavishing her with adoration. Though he'd known her intimately before, he was trying to relearn every beautiful inch of her, and the wonderful thing about it was he had all day and night. They'd stay in each other's arms and not leave until the next morning rose.


	13. What Is and What Should Never be

And if I say to you tomorrow

Take my hand, child, come with me  
It's to a castle I will take you  
Where what's to be, they say will be

A-catch the wind, see us spin  
Sail away, leave today  
Way up high in the sky  
It won't, but the wind won't blow, we really shouldn't go  
It only goes to show that you will be mine, by takin' our time

~ Led Zeppelin

. . .

Eric arose from his coffin with Lillian on his mind. In fact, he was sure that he dreamt about her, eager with the prospect of another round, another night alone with no one to bother them. He longed to taste her sweet blood again, to send her in an ecstasy of pleasure only he could give. There was so much more he could show her. He could fulfill all of her fantasies, even ones she never thought of before. Eric was wise in the art of passion. And once she accepted his blood in return…she would be sealed to him. He would always feel her, know where she was. His blood would course through her—forever.

The Sheriff had to be patient, he knew, but felt the time would come soon. Only a little more coaxing was needed. Then he'd be able to persuade the hunter of anything. Pam tried to ruin his mood with her usual lazy glum, but he didn't let her and made a beeline to Lilly's room.

Little did he know the girl wasn't there. She still hadn't returned…and when he saw this, Ginger was the one who met his rage. The skinny waitress nearly fainted as he confronted her. The vampire hoped that he was only overreacting.

"Where did she go?"

"S-she, she left," Ginger said stupidly, and realized it as soon as she said it. "I mean, she asked to use my phone, an-an' then called that man, her _brother_." Terror was plastered on her face.

"What? He was here?" His yell made her jump—she didn't realize he'd be so livid. Now she was beginning to regret her tattletaling. "Why didn't you wake me up?" Eric demanded.

"I-it was durin' the day… an' well, I thought you might get mad…" she told him with a wince.

Eric took a menacing step towards her.

"And how do I appear to you now?" he asked the cowering woman, eyes so dangerous-looking that she thought he'd drain her right there. If it wasn't for Pam who walked in on them, rolling her eyes and sighing, Eric probably _would've_ killed Ginger.

"What's wrong now, Eric?"

"Don't give me that tone," he snapped as he spun to face her. "Lillian's gone."

"Mm… I told you to shut the back gate before you went to bed," Pam told Ginger with a mock glare. "Now the puppy has gone and ran away."

Ginger slowly walked back, trying to escape since Eric's attention had drifted elsewhere. The man seethed for a very long moment, breathing sharply through his nose, fists white.

"I'm going to go look for her. I'll be back," he finally said to Pam and hoped Lilly's scent hadn't blown away by now. "Ginger." Eric turned back to the blonde, barking, "Get out. You're fired. I don't want to see you here again."

"W-what? B-but-" stuttered the waitress.

Eric snarled at her. "Go!"

Ginger gasped and immediately ran around the bar and out the door.

"Pam, call Belinda to replace her."

Knowing that she couldn't bate him further, Pam rolled her eyes and nodded. She would take care of it.

And in a swift blur…Eric was gone, disappearing into the night in search of Lilly.

* * *

She'd never meant to walk so far, but once she'd met the river, Lillian had felt compelled to continue. There were many beautiful rivers in the world, but during the day the Shreveport Bridge was _not_ one of them. At night, however, when it reflected the lights from the buildings in the city, the river came alive. Orange and red glows danced along its surface as the tall, cement pylons from the bridge acted like sentinels guarding their city. Together, with the random boats that coursed the dark waters, Lilly's mind was able to begin processing what had recently happened.

Between finding out her brother had been infected, and then truly discovering that she had affections for a certain vampire, it was amazing that her mind hadn't imploded. And then there was Marylin—guilt crawled into her stomach.

How could she have said those things to her dearest friend in the world? No one knew Lilly like Marylin did.

Sighing, the woman stopped her walking and leaned against a cement wall that had to be at least a foot and a half thick. Round recessed cup lights were spaced about five feet apart in the middle of the wall, illuminating her form while allowing her to look over the darkness of the water.

Odds were that by this time, Marylin and Scott were already a few hours outside of the city on their way home. Her eyes filled again, and Lillian was shocked that she still had tears left to cry. She'd sent them away and had come to terms with her decision, but if that was the case, then why did she still feel so messed up about it?

After searching almost the entire city, Eric landed overhead. He was surprised to find her here of all places…and discovered that she was alone, with neither her brother nor her partner anywhere to be found, not even a mile away.

Ginger had clearly lied, at least about half of it. Even from where he stood high above, blending with the dark, the vampire sensed Lillian's mood. Her tears—she was _crying_, something he only saw her do when she'd been hurt during the explosion in Dallas. She had been brave since then, so strong about holding back her emotions.

But if she had made a decision to leave him, on her own, why was she still here?

Eric crouched, peering at her closer, waiting for her to finally leave and continue on her way. But she didn't. He wished he knew what she was thinking. What was holding her back?

Deftly and soundlessly, he swooped down from the wall. Only the flutter of his coat announced his presence, and his single whisper that was suffused with misunderstanding.

"_Lilly_?"

At the sound of his voice, her hands immediately went to her face and wiped the brine away before she turned to face him. She tried to pull a non-emotional mask down over her face.

"Eric, how did you—what are you doing here?"

"When I woke up, I found you gone." He decided not to add the bit about Ginger, in case he chose to drain her, and Lillian didn't need to know about that. "You decided to _leave_."

The Sheriff couldn't and wouldn't hide his disappointment. Actually, he was _deeply_ disappointed. And hurt. And she needed to know.

Thus, more guilt washed over her.

"I…" the hunter sighed and left the wall to go to him. "You were gone when I woke up too," she reminded with a little humor. Tentatively, she shifted one of her hands to his, idly toying with it.

"You wouldn't have found my coffin very comfortable," he said as a frown slid across his pale face. He tried to read her expression. But Lillian still left him puzzled. "I'm…sorry."

Though for what he was apologizing for, Eric wasn't quite certain. She should've known he'd leave in the morning. It couldn't be helped.

"I know. I was joking." Lilly looked up at him and, after a moment, she finally let some of the emotion she was feeling onto her face. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I needed to clear my head and just," she shrugged, "lost track of time. I wanted to be back by the time you woke."

Eric became tense.

"Mm. I was told different." But if that was the truth and she wasn't going to leave him… "Next time leave a note or something, or tell Pam," he said, and took her shoulders to gently rub them, forcing a smile. "So I don't get worried."

"I will," she promised with a small smile of her own.

It faded after a moment as she thought about the reason she ran from the club. At the notion, Lillian stepped up to him and looped her arms around his waist, setting her cheek against his chest. While Eric thought the gesture was rather…_human_, after short moment, he returned the embrace, uncertainly holding her to him.

They stood there in silence, and then to his own surprise, he very slowly relaxed himself, realizing _something_ that caught him off-guard. But, he kept it to himself and only showed surprise in his gaze, which Lilly thankfully could not see.

The man lowered his head against her hair and took in a deep breath of her scent. He reveled in the fact that she was in his arms, not elsewhere. For a minute or two, Eric just closed his eyes.

"Are you growing bored of this place?" His voice held an idea. It caught her by surprise and she pulled her face back to look up at him.

"I'm not sure. It's rare that I stay in one place for so long, why? Are you?"

"It's been a while since I had a vacation…" he said. "And if I leave for a few days, Pam will keep _Fangtasia_ running."

"A vacation?" Lillian repeated, now unable to hide a smile. "Right now is the closest I've come to a vacation in a long time."

Eric gave a slight scoff that said exactly what he thought of that.

"Then will you accompany me, Lilly? For a few days," he proposed. "I have a house in north Quebec, in the mountains. It is much cooler there, the nights are longer, no one there to bother you. It wouldn't be as enjoyable if I were to go alone."

Well, it wouldn't be as enjoyable if he took some dumb fangbanger.

To escape that muggy heat, Lilly thought she would go to the ends of the earth with him. Besides, it would also help get her mind off of a _different_ mountain range, and the people that stayed there.

"Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to be nocturnal the more time I spend with you?" she asked him.

The Sheriff chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her, utterly pleased with himself.

"Is that such a terrible thing? Maybe the night has much more to offer…other than hunting." His words held more than one meaning, but Eric prevented any questioning by extending the kiss longer, to sweep her off her feet.

Actually that was what he literally planned to do and next said, "Hold onto me." His arms gripped Lilly tighter for security, as he glanced up at the glittering night sky. "Close your eyes."

Though a look of confusion crossed her face, Lilly did as Eric asked and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The second her eyes were closed, the wind rushed past them and her feet left the ground.

She somehow managed to keep from yelping, and locked her arms around him… and perhaps her legs…

* * *

Marylin couldn't sleep. Until now, for months she'd slept alone. But even as she tried, she couldn't calm her mind, as she lay there in Scott's arms, his body so warm she almost didn't need a blanket. She was a bad sleeper as it was, so her wakefulness wasn't a surprise to her. She would wait until her eyes got tired and shut off themselves, as she usually did. But at least she wasn't alone.

Shifting slightly, she inched a little closer to Scott, until she felt his chest at her back, and listened to him breathe—slowly and steadily. So deeply that it vaguely amazed her how much air his now-super lungs could hold. A slight shiver rolled down her neck, where she felt his breath stir her hair. He was so peaceful, so much calmer than he had been earlier…

Marylin intertwined her fingers in his and pulled his hand to her mouth, ghosting her lips across. She was sure he wouldn't wake.

But his hands opened briefly and let hers go, to resituate his hand on her stomach and pull her flusher to him.

"Marylin…" he muttered, as he shifted one of his legs over hers. "You should be sleeping," he said wearily, not even opening his eyes.

"I know. I will," she whispered back and closed her own eyes, in attempt to force herself. But then she sighed without much avail. "I'm sorry for waking you. You know it just…takes me longer."

"Roll over onto your stomach," he told her as he lifted his arm away from her waist so that she'd be able to move. Once she had, Scott rested one of his hands upon her bare back and started moving it in lazy patterns. At times, he stopped and massaged the knots he found, but for the most part he gently rubbed her back to try and soothe her off.

She calmed from his touch, though then turned her head and looked at him, seeing that he was sleepy. "You should go to sleep," she suggested softly. "I don't want to keep you up."

"I'd rather stay awake," Scott replied and leaned forward to nuzzle her neck. He let his hand continue to drift over her back. "Maybe we should pick up some of that tea you used to drink. Do you still drink it? Sleepytime something."

"I stopped when… Oh, I gave it up some time ago," Marylin said, staring across the dim room.

The growing moon's light filtered through the curtains, casting a glow upon their naked limbs and the white sheets.

"I thought it didn't really matter." That tea was probably a placebo anyway.

"If it worked, it mattered," he told her.

Illuminated by the glow of the moon, raised lines were seen on Scott's shoulder. They stretched the entire expanse and were colored pink, a sure sign that they were in the process of healing. They were one of his reasons that they kept the curtains closed and the lights off. He'd just gotten Marylin back—the last thing he needed to do was scare her off again. By showing her his ugly bite scar.

"My mother slept bad too, I got it from her." Wanting to face Scott, Marylin turned from her stomach and onto her side again. She gazed at face, finding his eyes, which faintly seemed to glow. She touched his scruffy chin and smirked faintly.

"You still snore," she informed him.

"Oh, well, aren't you sweet," he replied sarcastically with a smirk of his own. Scott found himself looking over at her and unable to do much more than that. The window was to his back, which meant that his face was partially cast in shadow, but it caressed every plane of her own face. Even if the light hadn't, he would have been able to see her, but she didn't have to know that.

"I should pick up some of those Nyquil Breathe Right strips then, if it's keeping you awake."

"No, it's okay. It's not what is."

Wanting to kiss him, Marylin craned her neck and found his lips. She moved her hand to his neck, gently pulling him closer, wanting to calm her thoughts by their contact. His warmth sent her nerves tingling again.

Smiling and finding that he was now having trouble sleeping as well, Scott shifted so that he could brace himself on his elbows over her.

"If you're sure," he said in between their kisses. "Maybe it's something else?" he teased. "But I'm not quite sure what."

His hands moved so that they were under her head and supporting its weight as he admired the way her dark hair fanned out over the pillow.

"You know me—I think a lot," she said, and wrapped her arm around his back. "And, _God_, it's been so long."

"Oh, I know," he said. He began kissing her collarbone. "I've missed this. This…" he kissed lower. Her nerves irrupted. "Beautiful…gorgeous. _Sexy-"_

Marylin giggled. "Scott."

He laughed against her breast and she shivered from the tickles his beard sent. "You're amazing."

"_You _are."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes!"

"In that case…" Scott traveled downward. Marylin moaned. Whimpered. Shivered. She ran her hands across his neck, his strong shoulders.

However, the second her hand ran over the bumps on his skin, Scott immediacy ducked out of her touch and pulled his head back. Worry flashing over his face, his eyes didn't leave her. He had to see her fear.

"Scott?"

Marylin partly sat up and was already reaching back for his scar, wondering how she had missed it, between all of those moments of _need_ and _longing_. The glow from the window allowed her to see the faint teeth marks… The rough, marred tissue around it. It was so large, spanning onto and across his shoulder blade. It seemed a miracle that the werewolf hadn't ripped off his whole shoulder.

"Oh, Scott," Marylin breathed.

The horniness had dissolved at once. The man quickly stood up, getting off the bed, and grabbed his t-shirt from the floor.

"It's fine, Marylin," he told her, but then he dropped the shirt. To him, it smelled. "It doesn't hurt." Not that much, anyway.

"Why were you afraid to let me see it?" She knew he was afraid, but then she knew why he never showed her too.

Still, Scott should have. He wouldn't have been able to hide it from her. Moving across his side of the bed, Marylin reached for his hand, to bring him back to her.

"I wondered about it," she said with a deeper frown. "I was going to ask you."

Her touch stilled his movement.

"I was just hoping for more _time_," he explained urgently. "It's still so new for you… I didn't want to scare you off." Though he didn't move closer to her, he at least didn't move further from her.

"You wouldn't," she lied. It _did_ scare her, but she would force herself not to run off again. There was nowhere else to go, anyway. "Tell me—tell me how I can help," Marylin requested softly.

Though his smile was slightly bitter, Scott slowly sat back down beside her and shook his head.

"There's nothing you can do," he told her. "It's healed a lot since it happened, but it's been like this for about a month now. I…I don't think it's going to go away."

Marylin held Scott to her, kept her arms around him in case he'd flee again. Cautiously, she touched the edge of the wound, and when she felt him tense, she laid her lips on his neck beside it, tentatively resting her cheek.

"Do you want me to wrap it up for now?" He eased into her touch, relaxing against her, and closed his eyes.

"You would do that?" It was hideous. How could she stand to touch it? Then again, if she wrapped it, he wouldn't have to worry about her seeing it.

Scott didn't want her lips leave his skin. She was his comfort, warmth, and peace all rolled into one.

"I'll do it," Marylin agreed, and placed a kiss right under his jaw, before pulling away altogether, much to his disappointment. But she promised she'd be back and slipped off their bed and went to her bag, where she took out her first aid kit. Actually, it was more like a bag she and Lilly used. In it, Marylin found a roll of bandaging, some medical tape, and some scar treatment.

She resettled beside Scott and waited for him to face her properly, before opening the tube of cream. "Did you keep it bandaged before?" she asked.

"At first, but then it just got to be too much of a hassle. Once it started to heal, I stopped," he explained as he looked at the cream. It smelled pleasantly minty. "Now that the wounds are pretty much healed over, I didn't think it really mattered anymore."

Squeezing out a glob, Marylin began to gingerly apply it. Whether her fingers were just ticklish, or he still felt some pain, Scott stiffened again and, retracting her hand, she said, "Am I hurting you?"

"No," he replied quickly. "It's just… no one's ever touched it before." Leaning forward, he stole a quick kiss from her and placed his hand on her naked hip, smiling slightly.

She continued to spread the cream and glanced at Scott every now and then, feeling her own smile creep across her features. He was _so_ much more open when they were alone, so much more _expressive_ than he was before—Marylin couldn't express how happy that made her feel, how relieved. She didn't have to struggle when coaxing out his thoughts.

"Did you know how warm you are?" she mused, as she reached for the bandaging.

"I'm warm?" Scott knew that the cold didn't affect him as much anymore, he never realized that he felt warmer to another person. "Would you like me to turn on the AC?"

His hand on her hip gently massaged her curves. Maybe he wouldn't need a bandage? The man leaned in and kissed her neck, only making her job more difficult. She paused a moment, her breath catching in her throat, but then quickly and neatly managed to tape half of his scar, before his warm, warm and irresistible touch forced her to incline closer.

"I think your body temperature is several degrees higher than mine." She unhurriedly bandaged the rest of his shoulder. "How do I feel to you?" she inquired.

"Like…a summer breeze." She did feel cooler to him but not in a bad way. It was like drinking ice tea on a hot day. To sum it up: Perfect.

When Marylin's ministrations were complete, Scott all but bowled her over back onto the bed. She'd faced his scars and stepped up to the challenge of accepting them.

"Do you like this bed? Because… I don't think I can let you ever leave it again," he growled into her neck. He laid more kisses up and down her collarbone and shoulder.

"Then I won't," she said. When the kisses traveled to her chest, she pulled his face up and eagerly caught his mouth, muttering, "We still have the rest of the night."

"Oh, I know," he said with a smile. His look had gone wolfish.

He didn't give her long to dwell on it before passionately claiming her lips once again, as though commanding her complete surrender—which he received without a single protest.

* * *

_"Lilly… It's Marylin. I-I know we messed things up yesterday. I…wouldn't expect you to forgive us, but Scott and I are asking…asking for another chance. One last chance. We can't leave you and aren't going to…and we're sorry for what we said."_

Marylin glanced at Scott, who waited by their car, and she turned around, taking several steps away. She lowered her voice. "Y-You were right…about what you said. So can we meet somehow? I'd like to speak to Eric, civilly, just me, if he would allow it. To mend things. Lilly, call me back-"

But the voicemail beeped and cut just in time. Marylin sighed heavily, wishing she could've said everything. She pocketed her phone and went back to Scott. She opened her door, pausing in front of it.

"She's keeping her phone off. I don't know if she'll call back," she said sadly.

"She'll call back," Scott said with a curt nod. "She's stubborn, but…she'll call back. She just needs time to cool off."

He was confident in his sister's power of forgiveness. After all, she was always the Advocate of Acceptance. Surely, she would accept their mistake and help them change it.

"Come on, let's go get your car back." He didn't bother to and smile since he didn't feel happiness. Instead he climbed into the SUV. Getting Marylin's car back was sure to cheer the woman up. "I'm going to claim it as evidence to get it from them."

"Then maybe you should put on your suit," Marylin suggested with a small smirk, which rose only upon remembering all the past hunts they were on, when they played agents. Scott always did look good in a suit.

She reached for the radio and found an old CD of hers that he apparently still carried, lodged in a notebook in the compartment between them. The Rolling Stones was written in her neat handwriting, slowly fading but still there.

"You kept it," she said and melted a little.

A smirk that he tried to hide crept up on his face.

"Well, it has a couple of good songs." The suit idea wasn't a bad one. "My suit's in the back. We'll stop at a gas station so I can change. You should probably stay in the car when we get there. We don't need them seeing you, and the tinted windows should hide you enough."

"Yeah." As Scott started the car, Marylin suddenly decided to lean towards him and kiss his cheek. He never liked public displays of affection, she knew, but no one was around…

"I like it when you look like a penguin," she confessed. Scott did a double take and couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

"Tha's just be'cuse I make a better James Bond than Sean Connery," he said, affecting a Scottish accent for a moment of play. Then, he drove the car out of the parking lot and onto the highway that would take them back to Bon Temps.

Marylin couldn't help a small giggle.

….

The drive to Bon Temps took a little over half an hour, because of some minor construction on the way. When they got to the little hick town, they found it cleaned up rather nicely in the few days they were away. The garbage was gone, most of the obscene graffiti (though some of it remained faint on the building walls), and the people seemed back to normal, resuming their lives as if nothing happened. Of course, that's how it really was in their minds—they remembered nothing of the Maenad, not even of MaryAnn, whose celebrity status long faded away, including the good times had at her parties. Like the remnants of the brief rain earlier that morning.

Fortunately, _Jack's Auto Shop_ was open that day, and upon seeing her car, looking so shockingly shiny and well...Marylin had to clasp her heart.

He fixed her baby up so fast! The windshield was new and pristine, the tires, the bumpers, the minor paint job. It was a miracle.

But then, she saw another man, a younger bloke with a thick wad of cash in his hand. Jack was showing him her Camaro, boasting its silver beauty as if it was the pride of his very miniscule collection. He was going to sell it, the bastard.

And Marylin was already opening the door. "Son of a bitch."

"Marylin!" Scott hissed after her, but the woman was already part way to them.

Hearing the doors shut, Jack turned in their direction and grinned.

"Well, hi there," he said cheerfully enough. His eyes took in the shiny SUV from which they'd come, and Scott could practically see the dollar signs in the auto man's gaze.

"Come to my crowned jewel?"

Marylin scoffed, ready to choke the man.

"Your jewel? Buddy, I paid you half and you're calling it _your_ _jewel_?" She rounded her heated glare on the customer, noting his smarmy grin. "Get out of here, she's mine."

"_Yours_?" the buyer laughed, and waved his wad of cash. "I'm gonna buy it now, lady. But if you want…I'll give you a ride."

"What-?" The woman would've blown if it weren't for Scott, who grabbed her arm to pull her back. Was every single person in this damn town horny and disgusting?

"Five grand," said Jack.

"_Five_? It's worth more than five!"

But Scott pulled Marylin even further away and stepped in front of her. If Jack realized who she was, they'd all be in trouble.

"Do you have a title for this vehicle, sir?" Scott asked the mechanic, who instantly turned a little green. "If you want to by this car," Scott continued, looking over at the man with the cash, "then I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

"What? Get lost, pal."

"You see, this car is being entered as evidence in a hearing up in Illinois." Scott was perfectly calm as he spoke, smiling away with his hands in his suit pockets.

"Oh, yeah? Where's your proof?" the man asked.

"I don't need you scaring my customers," Jack said, beginning to get angry, but Scott lifted a hand to silence him.

"You want proof?" Scott patted the pockets of his suit coat and then his front pockets and looked back at Marylin. "Did I leave it in the truck, Agent Gold?" he asked her. Then he smiled and nodded when he suddenly remembered and reached into his back pockets. With the flick of his wrist, he flipped open the wallet, revealing a badge and ID card.

"I'm Agent McAvoy."

"FBI?" the man asked, now nervous and taking a step back.

"Wait a minute…" Jack glanced at Marylin, who turned away to restrain herself behind _McAvoy_, looking quite out of place there with him. "So you're gonna take my car?" he asked with a note of suspicion.

"This is bullshit," cried the customer, and had no choice but to take his cash back. "What the fuck, Jack?"

"_This_ man," Scott began, gesturing to Jack, "doesn't own this car. As of this moment, it's under the protection of the United States Government. Last week the defendant in the case came to Jack to ask him to repair the vehicle. When the suspect was apprehended, Jack thought that meant the car was his."

Scott turned a smoldering glare on the mechanic, who sheepishly smiled at the young buyer.

"I suggest you get your money back, kid," Scott said without taking his eyes from Jack. "I'll take the keys now, Jack."

The buyer swore even louder and stomped off, while a shaky auto mechanic reached inside his pocket and took out a chain. Marylin's eyes widened when she saw he hadn't even taken off her little _switchblade_.

"Darn it… Fine." Jack slapped the keys into Scott's hand. "But-but I haven't been paid the rest…" Marylin took an angry step towards him.

"The State will reimburse you for your expenses," said Scott uncaringly as he in turn handed the keys to Marylin. "Nice talking with you, Jack." Smirking Scott looked over at his woman and headed to his own SUV.

They'd dump it as soon as they were outside the city.

Marylin quickly got inside her Camaro, started it, and took a moment to enjoy the soft, comforting rumble of the engine. Then, she began to follow Scott out of the driveway, only to be intersected by none other than the Sheriff's car.

Sheriff Dearborne looked at the woman, waiting for her to pass, only he didn't say anything. In fact, he…didn't appear to recognize her _at all_.

When she didn't move, a little confusedly, he dipped his hat and said, "Howdy ado, miss?" Then, he suddenly saw Scott look out of his own window in shock, and the old man waved to him. "Oh, Agent McAvoy. Yer back again?"

Scott had to use all of his strength not to shoot a look over at Marylin.

"Sheriff," he said, dipping his head in return. "Turns out that girl's car is being entered as evidence in that case I'm working. We had to come back and get it."

"Is that so? They made you come all the way back down here?"

Scott smiled smoothly at the man. "Oh, come on now, Sheriff, I _volunteered_ for it! It meant I got to come back and visit your fine town."

"Aw, shucks. Well, s'all back to normal now, after...what happened." Bud scratched at his temple slightly foggily. "So maybe you could enjoy it summore. I know we got our farmer's market up an' runnin' again," he went on happily. "Best market in the whole parish." He looked at Marylin, who was steadily paling more and more. But Bud _grinned_ at her.

"Haven't seen ya around. Are you visitin' Bon Temps too, ma'am?"

"Uh-" Marylin was at a slight loss for words. "I've been here…for a while now, Sheriff Dearborne."

"Oh?" Bud peered at her out of his window, feeling some sort of déjà vu he couldn't explain... She seemed familiar but he just couldn't place it. Marylin waited for him to call her out.

After a moment, the old man just shook his head. "Well you go on and enjoy our town too. We got lots to see. Visit our museum. We got a fine Civil War collection o'er there."

"We'll do that, thank you, Sheriff." Scott nodded and rolled up his window as the smiling Sheriff waved at them and drove off.

Not a mile outside the town, Scott pulled into an abandoned field and turned off the SUV. He was already working on getting their stuff out of the back of it when Marylin pulled up beside him.

"What was that? How could he just let you go?" he asked in frustrated confusion. "It was like—he'd never seen you before in his life, let alone arrested you on probably what would have been the _biggest_ break of his career."

"I don't know, Scott. He looked straight at me… He stared at me. I was waiting for him to say something," Marylin said, as flabbergasted as he was, and went to open her trunk for him. "I didn't think he'd have Alzheimer's."

After throwing their bags in the trunk, Scott paused but still couldn't think of a logical answer. None of it made sense.

"Let's get out of here, anyway. Come on. We'll head back to Shreveport."

Marylin sat back into her seat and checked her phone, but there was no call from Lilly. If she didn't call before nightfall, then that would mean they'd have to return uninvited, something that wouldn't go very well.

* * *

_After Nightfall…_

"I think I was given the okay to drain you on sight if I ever saw you again," Pam told them both with a volatile smirk as she saw them standing in the doorway.

"Don't think I wouldn't enjoy the attempt, _Fang_, but I didn't come here to put you out of your misery," Scott told her harshly, his eyes glinting.

"Mm… let me guess, you came for Eric's new vintage?" Pam smiled when Scott took a step towards her, only to be stopped by Marylin's hand on his arm. "I always was good at the guessing game. Well, so happy to disappoint you, but she's gone—they've left."

In actuality, Pam didn't like the fact either.

"What do you mean?" questioned Marylin with alarm.

The vampire hissed out an annoyed sigh. She was teetering on the edge of calling for Chow to help kick them out, but also simmered with bitter jealousy that she'd been left alone in charge of the club.

"Eric has _spirited_ her away," Pam drawled, letting through a couple of vampires who glared at the hunters. "He said he needed a vacation, took her with him, and left me to deal with _you_. As if I'm superwoman or something."

"Where did they go?" Scott demanded.

"And I should tell you because…?" Pam asked, lifting an arched eyebrow in question.

Scott nearly growled. "Because I'll rip out your throat if you don't." The vampire had stolen his sister!

Rather than take affront, Pam laughed. "Oh, puppy, I think I've gotten you beat on that little skill."

Marylin stepped in front of Scott, already noticing the small crowd that was gathering around them in line. The vampires could smell the disgusting wolf and were simply waiting for a cue from Pam to tear him apart.

"Listen, we didn't come here to cause trouble this time," Marylin explained to her, and knew well the vampire could sense her nerves. "We just needed to speak with Eric and Lilly…to settle our differences. Civilly."

"Well, as noble as that may be, they—are—not here." Pam lifted a hand, as though bored, and began to inspect her nails.

"Where are they then?"

"California, Washington, New York—even Mexico. Eric owns property everywhere. You can start with Mexico since it's closest."

"You don't know?" Marylin asked.

Pam rolled her eyes. "No, I actually don't. Eric left so quick he didn't tell me. So get lost. You're holdin' up the line."

Several people pushed roughly past and she let them inside. When she turned back around, the two were still there.

"I said scram, and take your smelly mutt with you. I won't repeat myself again," this time Pam actually looked deadly. Marylin had to restrain herself now, but she didn't pull out her knife. They were outnumbered again if she decided to strike.

"Okay, we'll go, but can you give us…Eric's cell number? Something?" she said, clenching her jaw. "I _need_ to talk to Lilly. Please."

"Sorry, looks like you're stuck until they come back." Once the other vampires were inside, Pam pointedly stepped inside after them and slammed the door shut.

Scott led Marylin back to their car and climbed inside. "I can't believe she'd go without telling us."

"She's…she's still mad at us," said Marylin, and shut her door.

They sat in her Camaro in the full lot, wondering what they were supposed to do. They were stuck in this wretched place indefinitely now, their plans completely backfired. Both of them were fuming but had nothing to take their anger out on.

"She probably thinks we left her, so _she_ left us." Marylin saw that Scott was barely able to keep himself together, so she slowly reached to take his hand. "If we stay here and wait, I know we'll go crazy. So…let's just leave. We'll come back later. Where did you leave your car?"

Her touch helped to calm him, and gradually, Scott managed to settle down.

"It's in Bossier City. I stuck it in a storage shed. On the off chance you'd left Bon Temps, I wanted to be able to pick up your trail."

"Do you want to go pick it up?" she asked him, stroking his knuckles with her thumb. "Maybe we can call Luke and Joshua, see where they are, if they'll be willing to meet us."

Though Scott wanted to see his friends, he was also hesitant to.

"They don't _know_ about me, Marylin," he said quietly. When he looked over at her, the shame was in his eyes, a sad smile on his face. "Let's go pick my car up. Maybe by then you would have talked me into seeing them."

"I just didn't want us to be cooped up in a motel room. But if you don't want to see them, we don't have to. I haven't seen them in a while either," she told him. Marylin glanced away a moment, trying to think of somewhere they could go. They couldn't leave Louisiana, unfortunately.

"If you want, we'll go somewhere else… Do you want to be alone?"

Scott smiled and shifted his hand so that he entwined their fingers. "No, I don't want to be alone, Mar. Let's go get my car, and when we get there, we'll call the twins. I want to see them." And that was the truth. He was just nervous about what might happen.

"How does that sound?" Scott asked, as he lifted her hand to kiss her fingertips.

"Good." Marylin felt a sudden, anxious buzz in her stomach—did that mean they would all possibly get back together again? Minus one, for the moment. Before, she wouldn't even consider it, not even spare a thought. Things could be different, for Scott changed.

To verify this, unable to help it, the woman stretched to kiss him briefly and then took her hand back, starting the car. "Let's go."

* * *

"If this is yours…" Lillian started as she stared up at the home, slack jawed, "then I have no idea why you don't go on vacations more." There were no words to truly describe just how beautiful Eric's home was.

Nestled up in the mountains of Northern Quebec, the home was the very definition of luxury. From the flag stone pathways to the natural stone foundation, to the smooth, wooden exterior, it was perfection.

As Eric turned the lights on one by one, warmth illuminated the inside. The ceilings were vaulted, reaching up high to huge crossing beams that looked like the hull of a ship. They were supported by walls painted the soothing beige color of sand.

But what caught her attention more than the beautiful architecture and furnished rooms, were the artifacts that lined the walls. Though they weren't as precious as the items that she'd seen in his bar's basement storage room, they were equally fascinating. It was strange, knowing that this was his home when she associated _Fangtasia_ as being him. _Here_ she saw a different side of him. _Fangtasia_ was his business, the Sheriff, but here… she would bet that this was the man.

She adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and walked to a bookshelf that harbored not only books but other relics as well. She smiled as she looked them over. They ranged from ancient-looking metal horses, to weaponry, to old artwork, and all of it was in mint condition.

Smirking at her reaction, Eric passed her and tossed his trench coat over a plush leather chair. The drivers filed in after them, bringing their luggage, while the maids and butlers revealed themselves and stood ready for their master's bidding. If they were frightened of them, they hid it well, but their glances darted to Lilly in surprise. It was rare that Eric brought humans here to stay with him, ones that weren't for his meals.

Or maybe Lillian was?

"Would you like a personal tour to start off the night?" he offered Lillian, and extended a hand to draw her away from his collections. "You'll have time to view everything during the day. For now, come with me. Are you hungry?"

The man snapped his fingers for the chef, who looked a bit nervous as he stepped forward. Eric never had the need for cooks, but since Lilly was with him, he'd purposefully called for one.

"Antoine. It's Antoine, isn't it?"

The chef nodded and swallowed, Eric smirking at his expense.

"He'll make you anything you like, Lillian." The Sheriff smiled warmly and put his hand to the small of her back to encourage her.

"Thank you, but I'm okay right now," she replied, smiling as well. "I can eat during the day," she mocked lightheartedly. "I'd rather have the tour."

The staff looked to their boss, as though waiting to read his command from a simple blink of the vampire's eyes. Though Eric looked miffed very faintly, he then nodded and sent them away.

"Very well then."

Wrapping his arm around Lilly, he began to lead her towards the hall, across the very large living area, where even more decorations caught the hunter's eye, most of them Nordic or relating. Now that they were really alone, with absolutely no one to bother them, Eric seemed to act differently, as if he was uncertain as to what move to make next, how he could please her next since she declined his offer to eat. There was something almost conflicting in his gaze, as if he struggled a moment.

But he quickly tried to hide it in case she spotted his brief waver.

"I've had most of the estate built underground. It lies within the mountain, without any disturbances from the surface. It stays cool in the summer, but warm enough in the winter," he began to boast. "I wish I did come here more often, but sometimes that's difficult with the responsibilities that I carry. I have another residence in Europe. Have you ever been there?"

"No, but I will someday," she said as she glanced at him briefly, before continuing to look around. There was no question in her voice. She truly knew that she _would_ one-day travel to Europe.

"You should make a point of having vacations, Eric," she remonstrated. She covered his hand at her waist with her hand and entwined their fingers. "I'm being a hypocrite, but that's not the point." Seeing all of the Norse artifacts, she marveled at everything he'd seen and done.

"Do you ever…go back?" she asked him quietly, hoping she hadn't over stepped her bounds.

Eric didn't answer at first, feeling a prod at his memories, but then shook his head without taking any offense.

"Yes, but not in a while. There's the kitchen. Dining room… Day room," he gestured in front of them as they paused in the entryway, where the open floor plan revealed the second part of the house to be just as big as the front. While the windows were large, there were blinds that automatically lowered for when day came.

"The entry to the lake is there, the terrace. I'll show you it after we go downstairs." Since there was not much of a second floor, Eric opened a large door that led beneath the ground. A light illuminated a rather grand staircase, winding down a depth of at least two stories. A soft breeze huffed through the threshold, a little chilling at first.

"Your room will be below, as where the rest are. You don't mind, do you?" he asked, even though there wasn't really much of a choice for her.

"Oh, uh, no, that's fine." She looked down the stairs and, seeing that he meant for them to go ahead, stepped down.

Though it was underground, it was no less beautiful then the upstairs. More care than she could imagine had been put into the design and execution of this part of the house.

He guided her and watched her expressions and awe, which pleased him more than he expected. Impressing her had become a sudden top priority. Why, he didn't know. In that moment, Eric was willing to share with her everything he had.

He even decided to let her know this, his gaze twinkling with such sincerity that his voice undeniably softened. "During our stay, you're welcome to everything you see here, Lilly."

"You may never find me then, Eric," she told him with a grin. "You'll find me a week later lost in some room, enchanted by whatever it is I've managed to find."

They arrived at a hall whose large walls were inlayed with heavy stone, making it feel like they descended into a cave, or perhaps a chamber of an ancient castle. It was filled with furs, plenty more leathers, rich, wooden furniture, and brilliant, intricate metalwork—all fit for a king. _And_ his mistress.

It was like walking into a story.

Lilly stepped away from Eric then, to run her hand through one of the furs, and found that it was one of the softest things she'd ever touched. Rare black and white mink.

"This brings the name Man Cave to a whole 'nother level," Lillian teased. But she loved what she saw.

The girl picked up the corner of whatever fur she was caressing, discovering it to be a blanket, and lightly touched her cheek to its softness. She closed her eyes for a moment as she luxuriated in it.

Bemused, the Sheriff came up behind her and took her by the elbows, lowering his head beside hers. He chuckled and realized that amazing her was all too effortless. He almost wished it was bigger of a challenge.

"Why are you so easy to impress?" he said, observing her marvel the mink like she'd never seen a mink coat in her life. He could get twenty coats if she asked him to. "Don't you want to see the rest of the rooms?"

"I live out of a car and eat gas station food," she said with a small laugh as she put the fur down and nodded. "Show me a hotel room with cable and clean sheets and I'm impressed." Not wanting to diminish the grandeur of his home, though, she tilted her head back and kissed the underside of his jaw.

"Show me the rest of your rooms."

"You won't have to stay at those cheap motels any longer," Eric promised, before laying a quick kiss on her neck.

He continued with her down the hall, where they first passed another room that was filled with tables and couches, and more furs and comforts—for more entertaining Lillian could only guess. There were two enormous televisions and a stereo system, but Eric didn't bother pointing them out. Spoils like that didn't interest him as much as they did humans. He wasn't born in this era, after all.

Next, they finally came to the bedrooms and Eric gave her a choice of five. Yet his was grandest, and he didn't mind sharing it at all. Actually he even made a subtle gesture by stepping towards it, a glint in his eye.

"I won't be far…"

"I suppose you wouldn't be," she said with a smirk, recognizing that look in his eyes. She chose to be coy. "You must throw quite the party, Eric, to have all of these rooms," and she left his side to look through the doors of first one, and then another.

"But this time you're my _only_ guest." He grinned, waiting on her, though there was no hurry. They had the entire night…and then more. "Which one do you like most?" he asked after a few beats.

Lilly returned to Eric then, smiling with mischief, and shrugged. "I can always choose later. Can I see your room?" Reaching out, she gently let her fingertips touch his stomach. "I think I need to make sure you're not sleeping in a hole in the floor."

"I can assure you it's far from a hole," he guaranteed and took her hand, going to the grand double doors of his suite. When they opened, she had to gasp, for his room was probably the best in the entire house, if that was at all possible.

There was no sign of a coffin anywhere, or any torture devices, or lord-of-the-night-type references. Instead the Nordic vibe had extended and saturated here, boasting a luxuriously inviting sleigh bed that was draped deep blue and not surprisingly with furs, matching well with the dark divans and chaises, the wonderfully soft carpet and beautiful walls.

There was a fireplace at one end, while at the other, a door that probably led to the bathroom and another to a closet. It was strange why didn't have the same in _Fangtasia_. Or maybe he did and she just didn't know.

Eric let Lilly look around some, not minding at all. "There is plenty of room. If you decided...you preferred it here." He let his insinuation linger.

"That would be okay with you?" she asked, turning back to look at him from where she'd stopped at a dresser. It was intricately carved with Norse designs, but Lilly found Eric's hints far more interesting.

The man took a stride towards her and said, eyes smoldering: "I insist, in fact."

"Then who am I to refuse?" Lillian asked with a coy smile and shrug. His gaze had her rooted to the spot, making her find all of her strength to snap out of it and meet him. "I suppose this room would do," she whispered softly.

"Good." His arms slowly sliding around her frame, Eric inclined his head to catch her mouth and delivered a sweet, deep kiss that sent her senses ablaze. He took pleasure in hearing her pulse quicken, and after a fairly long moment pulled away to murmur, "Do you still want to see the outside?"

He was happy to hear her decline.

"I think," Lillian began, thankful that her mouth was cooperating, "that it will be there tomorrow." Besides, if they were to go outside, that meant she'd have to leave his arms.

Lillian moved her face to kiss him, wanting more of his lips, but she stopped herself about an inch from her goal. "Thank you, Eric…for taking me here. It's perfect."

"Mmm." He only grinned in answer and anxiously closed the distance she left. She didn't need to thank him—it was all for her.

Of course, he always expected something in return.

* * *

Smiling, Lilly shifted her hands under her pillow and closed her eyes. Eric was wonderful as always, not to mention his bed was actually better than the one he had let her borrow back at his club. They lay between the silken seats and furs, utterly content with each other.

"Can I ask you a really strange question?" the girl asked as she shifted her face so that she could look up at him. Eric smirked and nodded.

"If I drink…let's say a red bull, does that…change the way I taste?" She'd always wondered about stupid little things like that and because she was feeling so loose and languid, she simply wanted to know.

Eric chuckled slightly, amused by her silliness. "No, but should you consume less vitamins…or minerals, there could be a noticeable change," he said softly and stroked her back, winding light circles with his fingers. "Are you following a daily routine?"

"Not since I was younger," she replied, closing her eyes from his caresses. "We try to because of the food we tend to eat, but usually we'll stick with them for about a week and then we find them at the bottom of the duffle bag a month later."

"Well, for now I'm not complaining."

The man leaned across to her lips and then placed a kiss on her shoulder. She was so warm, so delicious. He wondered why he was so smitten with her, for she was just as human as the rest of them, just a girl. Yet there still seemed like something _more_…

He dragged his mouth across her neck, breathing in her scent, enjoying the soft tresses of her hair against his face. The cool touch of his hand moved upward and passed the round, ancient protection sigil on her back. His fingers lingered on a pair of wings that were right above between her shoulder blades. He traced the sharp curves—they were uncomplicated yet so regal, her tattoos.

"Do you know where your wings come from?" Eric's murmur gave Lilly tingling chills.

"No, actually I don't," which was certainly a first for her. "I must have come across them in a book somewhere, but I couldn't get the image of them out of my head, and I wanted something for myself rather than just my protection sigil." Lillian opened her eyes and watched the expanse of his chest and shoulder. He was so powerful, so effortlessly.

"It just seemed right to get them."

"They're Norse. They represent the Valkyries, maids of Odin, who fly into battle upon his command," he readily explained. "Does it sound familiar to you?" He was sure he jogged her memory.

A slow smile spread across Lilly's face as she lifted a hand to trace the contours of his chest. "Yes, it does. A lot of people think they're like reapers and slaughter all before them, but… if memory serves, they also protected those they cared for. Ships, warriors, armies, it didn't matter."

"You seem to know your history," Eric praised, and rewarded her with her a fond kiss. "What else can you tell me?"

Smiling, Lillian shifted onto her side so that she could look at him without straining her neck.

"Well, I don't really know much more about them because I've never had to, which is probably a good thing, but…" she paused and bit the inside of her cheek in thought. "Legend says that they flew across the skies and seas on horses, of course…it also said they themselves could fly. Some of them, the ones with swan garments, er… I'm messing this up. What can _you_ tell me?" After all, he would be the expert on his heritage, not her.

But the man shook his head, stroking her cheek now and grinning, quite impressed.

"You weren't wrong, you were right," he commended, but continued for her. "Sometimes they were also accompanied by ravens. In some cases they were daughters of royalty and…lovers to heroes."

Dare she ask him more about his past?

"They sound like incredible women," Lilly admired, unable to look away from electric, blue gaze. Leaning forward, she kissed him and pushed herself up onto her elbows so that she could look down at him, her hair forming a wavy curtain around their faces.

"Maybe you could tell me more about them sometime?" she asked, enjoying the idea of him reciting them to her. "I'll tell you stories if you do."

The Sheriff considered for a moment or two and regarded her keenly. He cupped the side of her face, gently tucking back her hair behind her ear. If they were already this close, why not share more with her? He trusted her with so much already, and if this interested her—_genuinely_ interested… Few others were nowadays, few cared about history.

"I fought on the battlefield of Logafjöll…and at Frekastein," Eric began quietly, as he swallowed inwardly. His eyes were clear, features still, and Lilly's own expression calmed while she listened.

"My men and I went into both battles with positive thoughts. We've won many before them, we lost few. We were stronger and faster than our opponents. We had superior weapons. Our fathers were warriors before us, and their fathers before them…"

Wholeheartedly interested in his words, she settled down beside him once more, tucking her hands at her neck. The passion and vulnerability were unmistakable on his face, and though there was a part of her that wanted to reach out and comfort him, she refrained. Lilly let herself become witness to his past.

He went on telling her about the two battles, how the outcome of one was rather unfortunate compared to the other, but the ones after that earned the Vikings more victories. He told her more about his men and those dear friends that perished, and briefly about his father, whose legacy Eric had determinedly sought to over shine by his own. He told Lilly how he trained as a young boy with dreams of becoming a hero, witnessing his first combat just shy of fourteen. It was gruesome—his village was pillaged, women and children killed. But the enemy was later driven away.

Lillian learned how hard the times were, how their faith in the gods was so important, and how Valhalla waited at the end of every warrior's life, the greatest reward for bravery and victor. The soldiers become the einherjar, warrior spirits, who were guided and given mead by the Valkyries. Men dreamed about their beauty, their courage and kindness. They were the weavers of fate and decided who lived and died.

"It was an honor—the einherjar were supposed to prepare for the events of Ragnarök, for when they would advance for battle at the field of Vígríðr," Eric told Lilly, and was glad to find that she hadn't grown bored.

"I have a library here, if you want to learn more," he offered, as he smiled faintly. "At the very end of the hall. You're welcome to it."

"I would like that. In fact, that's probably what I'll be doing during the day." Along with fishing, swimming, sunbathing, and anything else that tickled her fancy while the sun was up.

"Besides, I'll have to brush up on my own stories if I'm going to actually try and keep you interested in them. Might be a hard thing to do," she said with a sly grin.

Eric wrapped his arms around Lilly and pulled her closer, kissing her jaw and neck and whispering honestly, "I _want_ to hear them."

He was surprised that he actually did. He wasn't lying. He wanted to hear about her adventures, about her hunts. Though she hadn't been in battles, she fought as well, _different_ enemies. She was strong and brave and remarkably different than most women—Eric had long stopped thinking her just a human, but perhaps he didn't quite realize it yet.

Smiling, Lilly tilted her head back for his nuzzles before lifting her face to catch his lips with her own.

"Then you will," she promised in a whisper.

She slid her arms around his neck and waited till it was her turn to explore him with kisses. Though she didn't nibble, something he did quite frequently, she kissed the underside of his jaw and neck, returning the affection he seemed to give her so freely. _While_ they were alone.


	14. Big Love

You said that you love me

And that you always will  
Oh you begged me to keep you  
In that house on the hill  
Looking out for love  
Big, big love

~Fleetwood Mac

. . .

When Lillian awoke, she knew it had to be morning, for that was what it felt like, even though there were no windows in their room. Indeed, a Roman numeral clock at the far end claimed that it was already half past ten. After such a wonderful night, she was now set on exploring the rest of the mountain estate, the lake, the wonderful library… But, she quickly discovered that she was secured in place.

Two strong arms were snug around her, holding her round the waist and stomach, and kept her from escaping.

Even in his sleep Eric seemed to stake his claim and refused to let it go. He slept deeply and calmly, but the expression on his face was one of sheer, persistent stubbornness. The girl looked down at his arms and tried to figure out a way of escape. Carefully she tried to slide out of his grasp, but he wouldn't budge!

"This could be a problem…" Lilly muttered under her breath, turning in his arms to face him, only to find that now she lost the advantage of being able to bend at the waist. She softly laughed. "This is ridiculous!"

Carefully, she once again turned and this time gently massaged his hand with hers to try and get it to loosen. Though it took the longest while, eventually Eric let out a sigh of what sounded like defeat. But he held her for a few moments more, just to bemuse her further…and a slow smirk crawled across his face. Lillian had the sneaking suspicion he was conscious now.

"What a conveniently located pillow," she said with a smile. "I wonder if vampires are smother-able."

Reluctantly loosening his arms, Eric grunted resentfully.

Lillian slid free of his arms and smiled as she looked back at him. Unable to resist, she leaned down and lightly kissed him. "Good night," she whispered before she started to stand.

She wasn't even off the bed yet, before his hand closed around her arm again. He watched her and pulled her back to him, to plant a meaningful press against her mouth, for he thought hers hadn't nearly been enough. Then, he let her go.

"Come back."

"I'll come back for a nap a little later," she promised. His eyes were fighting the urge to close from his need for sleep. "Sleep. I'll be back soon enough," she said through a whisper, and set a kiss on his cheek before slipping away from the bed.

Never before had she felt so loved, and with high spirits, Lillian slipped from his room to the bathroom to clean up, praying that none of the maids were around to see her in all of her glory.

...

"Yes, it was perfect," Lilly told the chef for what felt like the tenth time. Antoine had prepared for her a delicious salmon for dinner with a tossed green salad. On top, he'd dropped the freshest cherry tomatoes she had ever seen, and of course she had to eat every single one.

After glancing at the clock and seeing that Eric would soon be up, she wiped her mouth and shooed away the chef, who had tried to take her plate. She was quite capable of taking the dish to sink on her own and proved it to him by doing just that.

"But miss," sighed the chef. Before Lilly decided to wash her plate too, Antoine managed to pry it out of her hands, insisting there was absolutely no need. It was his job, and the slightly paranoid exasperation on his face finally left her with no choice but to back off.

Bemused, Lillian turned to leave, just as the doorbell gave a ring.

Immediately, the woman's first thought, perhaps self-centeredly, was that Scott and Marylin had found her. Part of her had hoped that her cell phone wouldn't be traceable outside of the U.S., but perhaps she'd been wrong.

Before she'd even gotten halfway to the door, an amused, masculine voice stopped her, and the butler appeared.

"Miss, Mr. Northman has guests," the butler said gently and gestured to the man and woman that stepped into view from the hall.

For being so open-minded normally, Lillian jumped to alert pretty fast. "Is he expecting you?" she asked with as kind of a smile as she could manage.

The couple studied her intensely, a curious glint flashing in their eyes.

"We learned Eric was in the neighborhood…" said the man, and strode forward with an unsettling curiosity Lilly almost stepped back from. He took her in from head to toe, chilling her thoroughly, while his wife cocked her head and darkly smirked.

They both looked distinctly Victorian, as if the modern age had passed them by unnoticed, as if they refused to part from the era they favored during their many centuries. Coupled with this, they looked rich—_very_ rich, especially the woman. So no other explanation was needed as to why they were apparent friends with Eric.

"And who might you be?" the man inquired. "We didn't know that Eric kept pets."

"I'm not his pet," Lilly replied quickly, trying not to pass judgment on him right then and there. "I'm a friend of his."

The female vampire smirked. "Is _that_ what he told you?" she asked, stepping forward as well. "How cute."

"I'm afraid Eric isn't up yet, so if-"

"Perhaps, he wouldn't mind sharing," the man cut her off, as he glanced at his wife, whose dark red lips spread in a grin. "He never does."

"Mm, no he doesn't, darling."

No sooner had the woman crossed the remaining distance to seize the hunter right there, than a blur crossed her way in that very instant. Eric appeared right in front of Lilly, shielding her from the couple, who quickly backed off in slight surprise.

"Lucian, Sophia—what brings you here?"

"Eric, we wanted to ask you the same, old man. We didn't know you were coming." Grinning, Lucian gave Eric's shoulder a slap and chuckled. "You didn't even tell us!"

"I was going to," said the Sheriff a little tightly, and then he forced himself to calm. "We arrived just yesterday."

Lillian stepped up beside him and looked the couple over. Had they grabbed her, there would have been blood spilled and not all of it would have been hers as they expected.

"Well, never mind, we're here now," Sophia said with a smile. "The entire northern nest knows you're up here now."

"I thought they would." Eric wasn't surprised. "But we're here only a few days before we go back," he told them.

Lucian grimaced and said, "Oh, that's unfortunate. You should stay longer, take a break from that awful heat." His gaze kept flicking back to Lillian, unable to restrain his urge for a little snack. Eric didn't seem to react, or rather he tried not to.

"I wish I could, but my area needs me," he sighed. "And I can't leave Pam for too long."

"Oh, dear Pamela, how is she doing?" Sophia asked with what she thought was a caring look.

Eric forced a smile. "She's doing well."

"None of her own progenies yet?"

"No, no."

Lillian raised a brow. Would that be…sort of like grand children?

"Oh, Eric, it's been much too long since you last visited. I'm sure she can handle your business for a little while. It's not like disaster will strike."

The hunter watched the vampires, pointedly not looking at the one called Lucian—he made her skin crawl.

"Maybe we will stay longer, we'll see," Eric promised congenially before glancing at Lilly for the first time. He brought his hand lightly to her back, and for a brief second, she saw a sort of tension on his face. He almost appeared uncomfortable and had to pause to decide on how he would introduce her.

"This is Lillian," the man said at length.

"Yes…" Lucian leaned in the slightest to regard the woman again. "We were wondering who she was. A charming girl you've picked for the night."

"Thank you," Lillian replied for herself with a slight smile, though there was a glint in her eye.

"Your taste always did run to blondes," Sophia commented with a grin. "But she _is_ delicious, I'll give you that." The vampire lifted a hand towards Eric's "pet", eager to see if she really was good enough for him to have found for the night. He tended to have an expensive taste.

"That's why you'll have to forgive me, I've staked my claim on this one," said Eric coolly, and Sophia was forced to drop her hand with a pout. "And I've had her for longer than just tonight."

"What?" laughed Lucian. "Did I hear you right, old sport?"

Ignoring their stun to prevent any further questioning, the Sheriff gestured them further inside his house. "Yes, you did," he said briskly. "But I'm being rude. Let's go sit. If you're in need of some refreshments, I will call for someone and they'll be here shortly. Do you both still prefer A-positive?" Eric asked his friends as he led them to the day room.

He wouldn't even offer them _Tru Blood_? Lilly watched them walk further into the house in shock—Eric would just _send_ for someone?

"Of course we do," Lucian answered happily. "It's the only kind."

"While I'll agree it's good, I doubt I would say it's the only kind, dear," Sophia commented as she went to the couch and regally reclined on it.

"In the mean time," Lucian began, and he removed his coat and dumped it into Lillian's arms. Her eyes widened, before narrowing in aggravation as she opened her mouth to speak. Lucian interrupted her and loudly addressed Eric.

"What have you been up to? Aside from slapping away those God-awful mosquitoes down there?"

Sophia reached over and dropped her purse on top of Lucian's coat in the human's arms. "I know what's in there, mind you, Lillian, and even Eric couldn't protect you if something went missing," said Sophia darkly.

Eric looked at Lilly and, to her further astonishment, he didn't make a move to stand up for her, not chiding either of his friends, not telling them to take care of their own belongings. He didn't even _say_ _anything_—Eric stood rigid, expression unemotional, as if his feet were glued to the floor and prevented him from doing anything at all. He just couldn't and he wouldn't, not while his friends were there. That's what it appeared like—peer pressure among vampires.

And Lillian could only stare, at a loss for words. Then Sophia gave her a little wave to shoo.

"Lilly, just, uh," Eric finally found his voice and nodded, "just give it to Alfred. He'll take care of it."

"But I don't know if we can trust Alfred not to go through the Missus' belongings," she finally replied after a moment. Her face was blank, though her gaze was smoldering.

"A loyal one, too!" said Lucian approvingly, but she was then forgotten as he looked over at his wife and friend. "Too many of them will steal once your back is turned."

Lillian turned and left the room, her shoulders stiff. Though all she wanted to do was dump the things on the front step, it would be childish, so she instead hung them up in the front closet before heading out onto the terrace where a book from earlier rested on a low table beside a lounge chair. She would let her "superiors" have their time together, because right then she didn't want anything to do with any of them.

When Eric saw that she wasn't going to come back, evident disappointment surfaced on his face, a guilt he couldn't squash. He was sorry, but Lilly _had_ to understand.

"I don't have tolerance for those that are deceitful," he said absently as he looked back to Lucian and his wife, adopting an indifferent air. "But there are some that can be…trusting."

"Well, not many to find here. Most are asking to be drained," said Lucian with a sneer. "But perhaps it's different in your America. The human media keeps a close eye on vampire affairs, does it not? Which doesn't allow us to get away with much, while their hate for us keeps ever-soaring…"

"I doubt it will ever stop," Eric replied grimly. "But yes, we're watched closely in the States. Though they can be avoided, as long as they don't interfere themselves."

...

"_And Eric's garden is being kept stocked year round, it seems…"_

Lillian spun around at the voice, her book forgotten on her lap, to discover that two men and a woman were standing there behind her. How they'd gotten there or when they'd come, she didn't know, but it didn't really matter.

Their dress was interesting—it almost seemed like they'd walked straight out of the pages of Esquire. It wasn't that their clothes were outlandish, but rather they seemed a touch exotic with the influences of high fashion. Even the men appeared to embrace the idea.

"If you're looking for… Mr. Northman, he's inside with some guests," Lilly told them cautiously, not using Eric's first name so as not to seem too familiar. If distance between them was what he wanted, then that was what he would get.

"We are," said a redheaded woman, smiling. "But we said we would pick up some beverages on the way." Sure enough, a human man stepped out from behind them, smiling adoringly at them.

"They wanted A-positive, but I think they'd be just as happy to get _you_," one of the vampire men, also redheaded, said as enticingly as he could, while trying to catch hold of her gaze.

"I remember hearing them say that, and while I appreciate the flattery," Lillian began, purposely not looking at his face, "I'm…_claimed_."

"Really? It doesn't seem like you are. Are you _scared_?"

The other two chuckled as they watched their comrade in action.

"If you'll follow me, I'll take you inside to Mr. Northman." Lilly turned her back on them then, fully aware of them following her more closely than was necessary.

"Mr. Northman," Lilly said coldly. "It seems more guests have arrived."

"Yes, as we brought you're A-positive," the female vampire said, and gestured for the man to step out.

"We'll just take them to the kitchen," said the third man, putting a hand on Lilly's arm to guide her with. She stopped and ripped it from his grasp.

"Please consider this your warning—_all_ of you." Lillian looked around at all of the vampires, including their host. "Do not touch me. I am not a willing donor."

"At this time or ever?" the red-haired man asked with a playful grin. He continued on into the kitchen while the rest of the vampires gave Eric a funny look. He wasn't actually going to let his vintage talk back to him like that, was he?

"It's alright, Eric," mollified Sophia. "She's new, we can tell. Give it a little time and she'll see. They all start out like that."

"Mm." Eric didn't say anything and instead beckoned Lilly to him, gesturing for her to sit beside him on the chaise he reclined. His eyes softened for just an instant—she had to understand _why_ they behaved this way, it was their _nature_. She would be wise not to make a scene.

"Lillian, come here." The Sheriff patted the cushion, his features restrained and feigning coldness. "Please."

The girl watched his gesture, before looking around at the others. Only because she'd seen his gaze change did she walk towards him and sit as he'd commanded. As long as no one else touched her, she would be fine. Though she wasn't happy, she sat lightly on the chaise beside him, wishing not for the first time that night that Eric's guests would leave.

"There now, that's better isn't it?" Sophia asked rhetorically, her voice patronizing. Lillian simply nodded and kept quiet.

Lucian studied the pair and smirked alarmingly, both bewildered and disbelieving at once. Eric rested his arms on the back of his chaise behind Lilly, fingers very discretely touching her hair, to silently give her some assurance (at least that's what he hoped she'd receive it as), while they waited for their food to arrive from the kitchen.

"Since when do you grow attached to humans?" inquired Lucian suddenly, and Sophia and the other vampires turned to fix their gazes on their host in equal scrutiny.

Lilly felt the fingers at her neck stiffen and retreat back into a fist.

"I just don't like to share. That's all," said Eric with a slight tightness. Then he changed the subject altogether. "Tell me, how is King D'Aubigne. Has he solved his matters with the Ontarian supremacy?"

"In the light he has," Sophia replied, smiling knowingly. Though Lucian and the others were watching Eric to gage his expression, Sophia's eyes were glued to Lilly, who pointedly didn't look at her.

It was a subtle move—the hunter leaned back ever-so-slightly to block the view to Eric's hand, and tossed her hair to a side as she readjusted herself on the couch.

"But we all know how that goes. Nothing is quite as it seems," Sophia continued with a sultry grin.

"We are most fortunate to live here," Lucian said smugly, boasting as he always did, receiving agreeing nods from his wife and the other two guests. "Away from the filthy, populated cities, in the mountains where we can be ourselves. And the tourist spots not far from here…they _do_ have a most wonderful advantage. That's why we insist you stay longer, Eric, old chap. 'Tis the season for many foreigners. You won't believe how many of them are so oblivious. I am certain you don't get such opportunities in Louisiana. Well, there's New Orleans, but more than half of them _want_ us to bite. It's the exciting struggle that they lack."

Eric considered this with an impassive nod, just as the beverages finally arrived, the butler carrying a tray of wineglasses. Although in them wasn't wine. Everyone helped themselves to one, and Eric did as well, not sparing a glance at Lillian, for he knew what would be on her face.

After taking a sip and licking red off his lips, that redhaired man hissed, "Delicious."

"Yes, quite superb," conceded Lucian. "Although I like it when you taste a bit of a fight." He glanced at Lilly.

But Lilly didn't make a face, and instead kept hers as blank as ever. When Eric drained his glass in one gulp, she glanced at him and then the others. She was careful to keep her thoughts to herself. The last thing any of them needed was another scene, least of all her.

...

A couple of hours passed quickly for those actually doing the talking, while it was painfully slow for those who weren't. But finally Lucian and Sophia were standing. The other three younger vampires had left previously, apparently having grown bored with the idle chatter.

"But you must stay, Eric, we absolutely insist," called Sophia as she waited for the butler to get their things. "Tomorrow we'll bring some more old friends and truly liven up these northern territories!"

Eric smiled artificially and said, nodding, "I will look forward to it." He stood in the foyer and waited for them to leave, Lilly a few feet behind him. She looked out at the guests, barely restraining her relief at their departure.

"Next time let us know you've come, old chap," Lucian told his buddy and clasped him briefly on the shoulder, even though Eric didn't return the gesture. Then Lucian looked darkly to Lillian, not bothering to hide his regret for not being able to have a little taste.

"Perhaps when you're done with her, old friend…" He had to try at least once more.

"I plan to enjoy every drop," Eric quickly reassured, his tone low and greedy. Lucian looked a little peeved a moment, then he sighed in minor disappointment and then trotted after his wife.

"Very well. Have a good evening, Eric." The vampire dipped his non-existent top hat. "Don't forget about t'morrow."

When the door closed, Lillian finally let out her breath and let her displeasure show on her face. Those vampires were worse than teenage boys! All they did was think about food and sex.

Shaking her head, she went to the living room and collected the empty glasses, only to have a butler and maid come and take them out of her hands before disappearing back into the kitchen. Annoyed, she watched them leave.

She turned and headed for the stairs, calling over her shoulder: "I think I'm going to call it a night. Good night."

Though now Eric felt his own annoyance, he didn't say anything and let her go. Perhaps they both needed some time alone. Plus, his felt that he was still hungry, and was certain there were some leftovers still in the kitchen that he wasn't going to let waste.

...

Surprisingly, Lillian wasn't in one of the other extra bedrooms. All lights were off in them and the beds still perfectly made. Not a single stitch was out of place.

In Eric's room, however, a small beside table lamp warmed up the darkness. Lilly was nestled in bed, nightgown on, and had a book a few inches from her face as she lounged on her side. Judging by the age of the binding, it was one of his books. Unless he decided to rescind his offer to let her read anything in the house, Lilly wasn't going to stop reading just because she was upset with him and his friends. That was a common theme women all over the world had to deal with. Men were different when they were with their friends, and vampire males were apparently no different.

When Eric swaggered in a while later, he was surprised to see Lilly but made no comment. Wiping his chin from a smidgen of blood, he both felt and seemed entirely more relaxed, as if nothing had even happened earlier that night, as if no one ever came to bother them. He only hoped Lillian forgave him already, so they wouldn't have to discuss any of it. Eric didn't want his mood ruined. Therefore, the last thing he needed from her was difficulties, not with daylight just over an hour away.

Walking around to his side, the man took off his shirt and tossed his onto a chair. Maybe she would be obliging enough to let him enjoy his remaining bit of time…

But it was not to be so. If he was to enjoy himself, then he would be enjoying it by himself. Lillian completely ignored him.

She shifted further over to her side of the bed so that he would have more room and distractedly said, "Oh, excuse me."

It appeared that she was reading the most fascinating book known to man. But while a discussion between the differences between the foundations of Norse and Celtic mythology would be interesting, odds were it _wasn't_ fascinating.

His mood quickly darkened just by her silence. Eric sat on his edge and gripped the sides with his hands, glaring across the floor. He tried to decide whether to contest her disregard or to try to fix the problem himself, because now his anger began to rise as well. While he knew he was partly at fault, she needed to be more pardoning in return.

Eric restrained a growl and after several long moments glanced back at Lilly. "How long will you stay angry?" he questioned.

"How long will you ignore what happened?" she asked casually, never taking her eyes away from her book.

"It passed as any other gathering," he said, teetering on the edge of snapping. "As if you have never been exposed to our nature."

Lilly finally closed her book and sat up to look at him.

"Tell me Eric, do you hold hunters to a double standard?" She raised an eyebrow as she watched him, daring him to answer otherwise. "Because if I remember correctly, you didn't really like the way hunters treated or spoke about you, and strangely enough, you had no problem voicing those opinions."

It took a bewildering moment for the _'opinions'_ she spoke of to register, and when they did, Eric seemed to surprisingly struggle for an answer.

"Because they were my convictions," he stood, unable to sit any longer, and glared at her so lividly, he was blind to what he spoke next. "Did you expect for me to change just because of our _follies_?"

Now Lillian rose, the bed between them. She started to simmer herself.

"Follies?" she repeated darkly. Her voice was as soft as velvet rubbed in the wrong direction. "No, Eric, I didn't expect you to _change_. In fact, I never asked you to change."

She should have been afraid of him, but there was no fear, only rage.

"And yet, apparently because of our _follies_, _I_ am the one that is expected to subdue my own nature and change."

"I'm not asking you of that either," Eric rectified tightly, and strode around the bed to face her, barely containing himself. "But you almost caused scene back there. It could have ended _very badly_, yet you hardly controlled yourself!"

"I will _not_ allow someone to touch me if I don't wish it," she snapped right back. Her eyes flashed in anger and she didn't back down from him. "I don't care if they're human, vampire, or something in between. I am not a plaything just like I am not a _child_, even though it may be hard for you to see that, so do not treat me like one."

"They would have questioned my behavior, Lillian," he replied, still with much heat.

Part of him couldn't take it anymore. He did not want to fight with her. Usually he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to butt heads with someone, in order to prove his superiority, but not with Lilly. Not to mention they weren't in suitable states to yell at each other—he shirtless, she in her nightgown.

"It would be very unlike me. They wouldn't have-" Eric swallowed, suddenly pausing because he had trouble saying his next words. He always had difficulties conveying his emotions, especially since _this_ emotion was so genuine, so actual that it made him idly wonder if her humanity was rubbing off on him too much, if he was himself anymore.

Goddammit.

"They wouldn't have understood…my affection for you." The tingling surge that the word gave off almost made him look human in that brief waver, before he swiftly contained himself again, stiffening. His throat unexpectedly went dry.

She was speechless.

"Even I don't understand it," Eric said, his eyes unable to hide their yearning. "It's not _like_ me," he repeated firmly.

Lilly tried to hold onto her temper, but it eluded her grasp all too quickly. How was she supposed to stay mad at him when he opened himself up so much?

"Eric," she started, gulping in an attempt to wet her own suddenly dry throat. "I have no problem being the meek, little human that follows you around when you're with others of your kind, but if one touches me that isn't _you_," she grimaced and shrugged, wanting him to understand, "then all bets are off. I will not tolerate that. You can understand that, right?" Her voice went soft as she spoke. "Only _you_ can touch me…"

His face fell and he crossed the distance between them in a swift second. Yet he stopped short half a foot, as if restraint held him back, but only barely.

"I made it clear that I've staked my claim," he said. "After tonight they shouldn't try to anything on you again. But if one of them does," Eric hoped that _'if'_ never came true, for the sake of his reputation, "then I promise they will face consequences."

He took her hand and held it in both of his, bringing it to his lips to place a kiss for additional guarantee. "They know how ruthless I am...and how greedy."

Satisfied with his promise, Lilly smiled and lifted her other hand to his cheek so her thumb could gently run over the bone.

"Then that's good enough for me." He knew her stance and he accepted it—that's all she wanted. Now that they understood each other, facing his friends and fellows would be so much easier.

"I'll try not to embarrass you again," she whispered.

Eric didn't answer and instead kissed her, slowly and fondly and warmly, hoping she would shut up now and they could proceed into the rest of the make-up process. When he felt her arms snake around his shoulders, his own went around her hips and lifted her right off the ground, to take her back to the bed she abandoned.

He idly closed her forgotten book and put it on her nightstand, then turned off the light. While she could barely see him, he saw her perfectly and refused to let go of her radiating, warm flesh. If only they got to this point earlier.

Lillian smiled and, using all the force she could, pulled him down to her and roughly reclaiming the kiss she wanted. He could sit there staring all he wanted later, but right then, they both had other ideas on their mind.

...

_Back in the States…_

"They're finishing up a hunt so it might take them several more days, but they said they'll come straight here with they're done," Marylin said, smirking and still holding her phone.

Part of her felt anxious while the other felt apprehensive. There was no guarantee that their reunion would be successful, especially after the twins learned about Lilly, but the boys sounded like nothing even happened that year ago. It was if they knew things would eventually mend again, and they simply waited for the call, even though patience was never a strong suit in the twins.

"They sounded so excited I wish I hadn't called them now, or they'll probably screw up on something." Marylin turned and looked at Scott. His smile was a little forced and there was something else behind it, something tense in his eyes that immediately drew her concern.

"Are you okay? We have some time."

"I know," he said quickly, nodding. But the tension never seemed to leave his face. "It'll be fun," he added for reassurance.

Seeing the twins would be good for all of them and maybe it was possible that Luke and Josh would have some insight into his sister's mind that neither Marylin nor Scott seemed to possess.

"We're going to have to stay here then, while we wait for them."

Scott looked around at exactly what 'here' was. After picking up his car, they drove east along I-20, their two classic car caravan turning heads wherever they went, and stopped in a small town outside of Vicksburg, Mississippi called Oak Ridge. The usual motel room.

"Yeah, we'll stay," agreed Marylin. "We have some time. I know you're worried… But there's always a chance they'll take longer. They're hunting down a wendigo. Meanwhile, we could just try to relax some here," she added for Scott's benefit, for he might've looked even a bit pained.

"Marylin," he started, turned back to her. When he saw her face, he looked away again, his eyes narrowing as though he were trying to find something in the dark between the radiator and the wall. "We're not going to be able to do that…"

"What? Why?"

"The…moon, Mar."

"It's so soon? I thought it was in several days." Had so much time passed already?

The woman felt herself pale.

Scott knew there was no point in denying the inevitable. Slowly, he looked back at her, grimaced.

"I'll leave tonight and be back before the twins get here," he promised. "But you're going to stay at the hotel and not leave it, Marylin." His words were spoken gently, but there was no mistaking the order behind them.

"It's tonight or are you going early?" The shot of dread felt like electricity, forcing her to stand because she was unable to sit anymore. "Why didn't you tell me before?" she questioned.

"It's tomorrow, but…sometimes it can be hard to control the day before because it's so close," he admitted.

"So you can't even wait until tomorrow morning?" Marylin stared at him, incredulous. Though she was scared, she was also angry, fuming that he hadn't told her sooner.

"Marylin, I can barely control it this close. I'm not going to risk your safety," Scott took a step closer to her as though his proximity would help her understand. "I _can't_ risk you." There was no telling the amount of damage he could do to her if he lost control. He'd rather suffer her anger than possibly put her at risk.

"Why hadn't you told me before?" she asked again, fists clenched, gaze narrowed in frustration.

If he had to go, then she had no choice but to let him. She wouldn't know how to handle him. It _would_ be dangerous. But did he have to tell her at the last minute? As if it was to make things easier or something, for her own good, which it really wasn't.

"Why did you have to wait until now to tell me, Scott? This whole time I thought everything was still okay."

"I'm not leaving you until a bit later," he tried to placate. It wasn't helping. "This isn't something I'm used to, let alone used to sharing with other people, Mar." There was a slight growl to his voice as he felt her anger, and naturally responded to it with some of his own. "I didn't want to worry you!"

"Well, you'd have to tell me eventually, so what difference would it make?" She crossly turned to stalk away from him several paces. "You _know_ I hate when people do this to me. It doesn't make things any better!"

Her entire mood had plummeted, the happiness of those days prior vanishing to be replaced by that anxiety and fear that he'd confronted her with when he first told her what he was. She _hated_ being oblivious, and this _wasn't_ the first time Scott had kept her in the dark, as if it was a way to protect her. It made her feel ridiculously meek and fragile. It was degrading—she wasn't a damsel, nor did she want to be one.

This was one of the reasons she and Lilly left!

"Goddammit, Scott!" Marylin snapped amid her immense irritation. Scott reached forward and grabbed her by her upper arms to pull her close, though it wasn't for soft kisses. He shoved his face to hers, forcing her to look at him.

"Look at me, Marylin," he growled. "Look at me. Do you see my eyes?"

They weren't normal. They were abnormally dilated and didn't appear to change size no matter the amount of light that shown on them. Even the blue of his eyes seemed brighter, shining a much lighter shade. Flecks of silver.

"I can't control what happens." His thoughts were scattered and always lead up to the full moon.

Marylin's heat deflated and she swallowed. She quickly grew uneasy, for his grip was startlingly tight. Scott _did_ look frenzied—she half wondered if his teeth had sharpened as well. Yet she immediately stifled that thought, hoped she hadn't guessed right. Panic slowly began to inch up her neck.

"What t-time will you go?" she asked cautiously. It was already three PM. He was quiet at first, his eyes arresting her gaze before finally he let her go and took a step back.

"An hour or so before dark."

Realizing how tightly he had held her, Scott's gaze automatically went to her arms, but because she was wearing her light jacket, he couldn't tell if he hurt her. Marylin raised a hand and briefly touched where his grip had been, looking away.

"Okay," she agreed quietly. Arguing would get them nowhere, and she didn't want to test his restraint, decided to keep a distance. "How long will you be gone?"

"Until I can control myself."

It was more than likely _not_ the answer she was waiting for. It sent an immediate spike of churching worry through her. His tone, so indefinite—she hated the sound of it. Before, Scott had given Marylin some relief that he had a handle on his control, that's what he told her at least. So had he lied?

"But the moon lasts only a day, I thought," she said with minor accusation in her voice.

With a nod, he looked back at her.

"It does. But…if I can get back to you sooner, I will." The man attempted a small smile, and hoped it looked reassuring. When he knew it wasn't, he let out a rough breath. "It's like—imagine every impulse you've ever had magnified by a hundred. I don't think I'd hurt you, Mar, but I can't take that chance." His human conscience fled during the full moon to be replaced by a baser instinct.

"If I didn't have to leave you, I wouldn't. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Marylin answered halfheartedly. Maybe if he left now, it wouldn't be as bad, before anything happened to make it even harder. She tried to avoid his expression and turned around altogether, going to the window to glance outside, where the sun wasn't setting just yet.

"Is it…really bad now?" she asked him at length.

"Not so bad," he replied honestly. "More like I feel like a loose cannon right now." Indeed, it felt like he could go off at any second. He wanted to pull Marylin to him and also lock in her in the closet. He wanted to kiss her and he wanted to shake her. They were all impulses he had to fight against. Seeing her over by the window, her back turned to him…

He silently walked over behind her, resting his hands on her hips. He nuzzled her neck and inhaled her scent. "Maybe I _could_ stay a little longer…"

She tensed slightly instead of relaxing and wondered if she should trust him or not. Marylin knew he wasn't stable, his urges a possibly dangerous, heightened mess.

"You said you couldn't," she said pointedly.

"I said I _shouldn't_," he replied with a grin. He placed a kiss on her neck and nibbled at her ear. His hands slid around under her shirt to the soft skin of her stomach. "I'll go in a little while, how does that sound?" Marylin turned around rather swiftly, to look at his face and see his vivid eyes where the hunger she couldn't mistake flared beneath.

"Scott," she began tentatively, "maybe we shouldn't…_do anything_."

She placed a hand on his chest, feeling that his breathing changed. It was now deep and swift—animal-like. It alarmed her before she could help it, making her hesitate even further. His nose flared as he took in a deep breath. He smelled her fear. Though it angered him, it scared him more and made him take a step back. The man shook head as he lifted a hand to his face, tried to get a grip on himself.

"I'm sorry. I think it's best I go now," he said. Then he turned. He walked out the door.

"Scott-" Marylin watched it slam, before she could stop him.

Through the glass she saw him cross the parking lot and then turn and disappear around the corner, towards the trees that flanked the building. She started after him, opened the door, then she forced herself to stop. Her eyes fought to not fill and she fought to force herself to let him go.

It was better that way. Safer for both of them, lest either of them did something they would greatly regret. It was the right thing and they had to know that.

So Marylin released the door.

...

_Quebec…_

There were more of them. The night before there had been five, but this time, it seemed like Lucian and Sophia had come through on their promise and nearly the entire Northern Nest had arrived at the aforementioned couple's home. A massive French-Canadian chateau. Some sat on the couches and divans, others stood on the terrace, but all were enjoying themselves.

And this time, there was _more_ than just one willing donor. They walked around, flirting with their vampires, their necks and wrists riddled with bite marks.

Unlike the night before, Lilly was calm, much like she had been in Dallas before the bomb had gone off in Godric's nest. She'd promised Eric that she would not again embarrass him and had so far made good on it. She smiled and spoke, just like the rest of the humans, and mingled just as much as the rest of them, making sure to give the Sheriff space to try and alleviate some of the suspicion.

This time, she had also dressed the part—Lillian wore a floor length black silk dress, belted at the waist, with a high collar that loosely folded over to only give a teasing view of her neck. Her hair was pulled back in a sophisticated coif to finish the look. She had to admit, she liked what she had seen in the mirror before coming up the stairs that night back at Eric's residence. She couldn't dare guess how much the dress had cost. But obviously Sophia beat her by miles. She had stolen something from Queen Victoria.

"_So_ glad you and your pet could make it, Eric," the vampire said with a smile as she took a sip from her glass. "I was saying to Lucian earlier that it might be like you to try and slip away in the night, if you didn't want to attend."

"Nonsense, I wouldn't dare to be that discourteous by denying your invitation," replied Eric, with a mood lighter than the night before, but only Lilly knew most of it was artificial. "Besides, I wanted to see the rest of my old friends."

His hand rested lightly around Lillian's waist, as a warning to those leering gazes and grinning faces, but thankfully the message was clear to most guests: Eric was a greedy bastard who would not share one drop. He ignored the occasional jealous looks that came his way from old comrades, and responded with steely, smug smirks of his own.

"Where is Lucian anyway?" Eric inquired casually with a slightly playful inflection. "Off fetching someone for you?"

"Perhaps," she replied with a grin. "He's always doing that. _Men_." She didn't bother to roll her eyes because she flourished under the attention of her husband. Her gaze slid to Lillian before sliding off and away.

Lucian came up with a very short brunette woman and offered her to his wife.

"Eric, old boy, you made it!" The drink was all but forgotten as he saw his friend.

"Finally, we are greeted by the host. What a splendid party you've gathered here," Eric praised with only a tinge of wryness, but Lucian didn't appear to notice. "I've been meaning to inquire—you've invited the King as well?"

For there were several royal subjects they saw milling about, thus King D'Aubigne was supposed to be around here somewhere…

Eric betrayed his slight apprehension only by tensing his fingers at Lilly's waist. The King was the only one closest to his age there, perhaps just a few hundred years younger, but with far more power, especially since Eric was out of his territory. Lilly looked up at him only briefly and sipped from her glass of champagne.

The King was a Merovingian, a direct line from French royalty and the very epitome of a sovereign: selfish (far more selfish than Eric), ruthless, pompous, and very, very proud, with a history of influence in the French court, his presence having resided there for centuries until finally opportunity presented itself and allowed him to become king of the new French province of Quebec. Here he was allotted with far more territory than any vampire in America would ever be allowed, and thousands of devoted servants that had followed him from their homeland.

"Yes, actually," Lucian replied with a smile. "His Highness arrived just a touch before you did." The host looked around the room, trying to spot him, and smiled again when he finally did.

"There he is."

Sure enough, D'Aubigne was sitting in a corner of the room, looking over the heads of his followers to Eric. The King's eyes locked onto the vampire and never left him, even when the young man standing at the king's side knelt down to whisper in his ear. He was a short man, dark-haired, and a prominent part running down the middle of his hair.

"And apparently he knows that you have arrived as well," Sophia said, stating the obvious with a mischievous grin.

"Then…I mustn't be rude. I will be back. Lillian, stay here," Eric requested.

Although, he gave her no choice as he swiftly stepped away and started towards the king. Winding his way through the crowd, he chilled his features and adopted a cool air, to arrive at D'Aubigne's feet with a graceful bow.

"Your Highness," the sheriff greeted with the utmost respect. The King regarded him down the length of his nose, one eyebrow lifted marginally in superior scrutiny.

"A sheriff from America here to grace us with his presence." The King smirked, containing not a drop of warmth within him. "And not just a sheriff, but _the_ Eric Northman."

Lilly watched from the distance, found it strange to see Eric bow to someone. He was still on his knee until the King decided to release him, his eyes graciously averted.

"Yes, I've come here on a brief vacation," he explained. "It has been a while since I was last here in your land, and your majesty's own great presence."

"Yes, I know," replied the King briskly. He enjoyed having the Sheriff kneeling before him. Eric's eyes grew steely the longer he waited. Finally, after another moment had passed, with a couple flicks of his fingers to let the sheriff rise, D'Aubigne inquired:

"Have you brought me a gift?" His eyes were fixed on the woman Eric had left.

The sheriff didn't look back at Lillian as he finally glanced at the King. Very inwardly, Eric swallowed.

"I apologize, but no, your highness," he answered much to D'Aubigne's immense disappointment, "she is…my companion."

While Eric might have tried concealing the truth from his friends, he couldn't hide it from the King, who needed to be aware of Eric's claim most. Otherwise D'Aubigne had the power and audacity to snatch Lilly right out of his hands. Of course, there was a likely chance either way, but an insurance needed to be made, however minor. In an airy, distracted voice, as if lost in his pondering ideas, D'Aubigne said:

"I would like to meet her."

He did not take his eyes off of the woman in black. When Lillian looked over at them both, the King nodded ever-so-slightly, only she didn't know what it meant. Lucian and Sophia, who had been hovering around her, smiled.

"The King wishes to see you," the former told her with a sly grin. Lilly froze in place.

"You'll embarrass Eric if you don't," Sophia told her with a bite.

"Go," said Lucian.

With little choice now, the hunter finally made her way through the crowd to Eric's side.

The King leaned forward to take her hand and, in the same, old-worldly manners that Eric had displayed, kissed the top of her hand. "Welcome to my territory."

Lilly could have pulled away as she'd threatened Eric she would do but instead smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

"This is Lillian," Eric courteously introduced. He found it now hard to restrain himself, for the King could very well glamour her, but Eric succeeded in keeping his cool, forced his apprehension through his fists, which he briefly clenched.

"Lillian, this is King Henry D'Aubigne," he said but didn't touch her, not while the King still held her hand. "We have known each other for many years. His Highness is highly regarded throughout all of the world. He is also a direct descendant of the French monarchs," Eric added, to feed D'Aubigne's ego, and so Lilly was aware of the power and prestige the man had. They were in same room with a very dangerous authority who, with a flick of his wrist, could order them straight to the chopping block if he so wished.

Lillian bowed her head and curtseyed slightly. "It truly is an honor to meet you."

The King smiled, watched her curiously, and released her hand. When Lilly had bobbed her head, he'd seen the mark on her neck and couldn't hide a smirk as he glanced over in Eric's direction. It was impossible to miss his tension and D'Aubigne basked in it.

"Tell me, Eric, how is Sophia-Anne doing? It's been some time since I've come to visit your muggy, swamp-infested corner of the world."

"Actually, it's quite tolerable this time of the year," but when D'Aubigne raised an eyebrow at his counter, Eric cleared his throat, "Though I have not seen her recently, last I heard the Queen is well. It's peaceful in our territory. Should I pass on a word from you, your majesty?"

"Yes, tell her that her stockpile of all the beautiful blondes in the world doesn't make for peaceful borders and she should learn to share. How do _you_ feel about sharing?" D'Aubigne asked Lilly with a smile. "You might choose to stay indefinitely if I chose to extend that invitation."

There was a glint in the King's eyes as he sought to capture Lillian's gaze, his intent obvious.

That was it—Eric stepped to his human and wrapped his arm around her. It was ridged and strong and Lilly was sure that it would take two vampires to pry her out of Eric's grip. But his face still remained relatively still, a smile of forced gratitude weaving across his features.

The King remained in his lavish chair, though there was irritation brimming beneath his composure.

"Thank you, your majesty," Eric gave a bowing nod, pale gaze narrowed faintly, "but we must return in a few days. I must return to my duties and Lillian has her own matters to attend to."

"Yes of course," said the King, acknowledging their dismissal with a faint nod of his head. As both turned to leave, D'Aubigne spoke up again.

"Oh, and Eric, so sorry to hear about Godric. Unfortunately it's not all that uncommon."

Now it was Lillian's turn to stiffen. She caught one of Eric's hands with her own and squeezed, blocking the view of it with their bodies. But Eric released her touch after a second, to look back at the King and bow briefly one last time. Eric had to control himself until they reached the backyard balcony, for they were in a houseful of vampires who did not need to witness his outburst. But even once they were outside, Eric held most of himself back.

He stalked to the stone railing and leaned over it. He gripped hard until his knuckles turned an alarming white that matched the nearly-full moon, which shone brightly across the dark lawn. He breathed slowly and deeply to calm and assured himself with the thought that they'd soon be gone, and he was still older than D'Aubigne—not that Eric was going to fight him. People were simply jealous of Eric and it couldn't be helped, and the King liked to abuse his power anyway. It shouldn't have been a surprise.

Eric couldn't bear to idea of Lilly being stolen away. He felt such avarice within him that it even shocked _him._ Never had he felt such possessiveness over a human, not nearly like this.

Grimacing, Lilly walked up behind him and, after looking to make sure no one else was around, lifted a hand to his back and gently rubbed it.

"Ignore him, Eric," she whispered, guessing wrongly about what he was upset about. "He's not good enough to even think Godric's name, let alone say it."

While Eric agreed, he didn't reply. The reminder of Godric had struck a nerve with him as well, but it wasn't what bothered him most, even if that was probably bad in his maker's memory. Lillian had helped him through his loss, helping him _heal_ and find _peace_ when no one else could, not even Pam. Because she often times tried to suppress her humanity more than he. And so not for the first time, Eric felt indebted. Lilly did so much for him…

"He's the King," he said eventually with some disdain. "He takes pleasure in spiting…especially when he can't have that which gives him a sudden interest." Eric slowly looked over at Lilly, still very moody.

"I wouldn't have gone to him, Eric," she told him gently.

"I know, but it wouldn't have matter. If you met his eyes, he would've seized you in an instant," he said. "He would not care if you were someone else's."

Lillian felt helpless. Here she was the mighty hunter and yet, out of respect for Eric, she had left nearly all of her weaponry at home. The only thing she did have was a small blade smaller than a nail file tucked in the twist of her hair. Though she trusted in Eric's protection, she couldn't go into a nest of vampires without something.

"I might have held out longer than an instant," Lilly said quietly.

"He is very powerful and can be very envious."

Eric looked at her hand a moment and then took it, holding it tenderly in his cool one. He frowned slightly and wondered not for the first time about his affection, about what they had, how fragile it was. If only their bond was sealed. Perhaps after that night, he would finally propose to her. It would be the only way…

"I want you to stay away from him," Eric requested softly as he met her gaze again. "Don't go anywhere near him. Soon we will leave."

She would have done that had he not asked. Lilly nodded her head and covered the top of his hand with her other one.

"I might just stay out here for a little while. The breeze is nice." The smell of blood was pretty thick in there, even if it was fresh and her sense of smell was nowhere near as heightened as those of the vampires.

"Eric, is it possible to build up a tolerance to the glamour?" She was dead serious all of a sudden. "I understand that as human I will always be susceptible to it, but perhaps resistance can help, if I work to fight through it."

"It's very difficult. Most humans don't stand a chance. But let us talk about it later, it's unwise to do it here. I have to go back now or the others will begin to wonder where I am." Eric swooped to her neck and placed a couple soft kisses, before sighing against her skin and releasing her altogether.

"Please try not to attract anyone's attention until I return."

"I'll stay out here, quiet as a church mouse," she promised with a smile. She stretched up to give him a brief kiss of her own. "I promise. Go enjoy your party," she said, shooing him away with a grin.

Though Eric didn't smile, he nodded and then turned and left, banishing his emotions from his face and plastering a neutral expression instead. Lucian and Sophia were still where they'd been, and a few more old buddies joined in, inquiring about his pet and where she'd run off to.

Eric didn't give her away and pointedly changed subjects. Fortunately a new round of A-positive arrived then to successfully divert the group's interests.

...

Eric had said that they would be leaving shortly, and she couldn't lie about looking forward to that. Though she had done much better that night in dealing with the vampires, she still just wanted to go home and…

The thought stopped her immediately. She just referred to Eric's residence as her _home_.

"I'm going crazy," she whispered, lifting her hands to rub at her temples. She stood at the stone railing and closed her eyes.

There was no reason for her to think like that yet she _did_, and before she could stop herself, she smiled. She'd been with Eric for a while now, and even longer in Louisiana. It was a much-needed break from the lonesome road, the cheap motels, the renegade role she had long accepted. Perhaps considering herself part of Eric's home wasn't so bad… It had been a while she visited her own. She rarely thought of it anyway.

Lillian contemplated the notion for a while, staring across the yard, the manicured hedges and garden. The revelation was a little daunting but the longer she thought about it, to her own surprise the more relieved it made her feel.

But little did she know that amid her realization, someone approached from behind and presently stood unsettlingly close, listening to her pulse dance beneath her neck, watching the breeze stir the few freed locks of blonde hair. The breathing was very slow and deliberate.

It basked in her scent…hungrily, beastly.

The woman smiled, felt some weigh leave her shoulders, and gripped the stone railing in her hands as she leaned back. The empty air she expected to feel wasn't what she received. Her shoulders brushed a chest and her eyes immediately sprung open. She spun around to face who was behind her.

"Lucian."

Keeping her cool as best as she could with him so close, her gaze darted over to the terrace doors. Eric was nowhere to be seen.

"Yes?" Lucian purred, forcing Lilly to edge back with the step he took. "Now…why would Eric be foolish enough to leave his…_delectable_ pet all alone out here, in the night, with nothing but the moon to keep her company?" he inquired, and didn't bother restraining his smarmy gaze from drifting down her form.

He undressed her with his eyes. How well she fit that dress, the moon hit it well, accentuating her curves in all the right places, ghosting the side of her face so delicately. So deliciously. Her rosy lips formed a scowl that immediately sent a thrill of excitement through him.

"My dear, don't be alarmed," Lucian chided lightly as he smiled. "There's nothing to fear…"

"Except fear itself, right?" she replied, trying to keep her voice even. "I think you should go back _inside_, Lucian."

This was not good.

"Now, why the rush?" he asked her, and now she had nowhere to go but over the rail. "No one has to know," the vampire said darkly. His voice was low and dripped with craving, his dark eyes trying to draw her in… Lilly fought not to look.

"Eric—that selfish bastard. He knows that sharing is caring…and here we all share, and thus are guests are obliged to do the same. He even denied our _King_," Lucian scoffed. "Do you _know_ what punishment there is for that?" His grin turned deadly as he cocked his head, attempting to catch her gaze.

"He could drain both of you…"

"He has no reason or right to drain either of us," Lilly replied, her eyes watching his mouth. She wouldn't look further up than that, knowing the trouble she would be in if she did. "It doesn't matter that he's your King. I am Eric's. He's claimed me, and by your laws, even _he_ can't interfere."

Actually, she wasn't sure if that was the case, but it was what she believed it to be. Much to her dread, Lucian laughed heartily, and she hoped that someone would come and stop him…but no one did.

"What laws?" he said. "Perhaps in your America… But there are no laws here. We live by the King's!"

Lucian's fangs clicked into place, long and dangerously sharp, and then he grabbed her arm. His eyes were set on her neck and she couldn't fight him off her.

Meanwhile, something stirred in the bushes beyond them, a silver point revealing between the leaves. It was aimed, ready. All that was needed was a clear shot. Little did any of them know that the entire estate was being surrounded at this very moment.

They had seconds.

With the speed natural to vampires, Lucian suddenly bit into her neck. But he hadn't even gotten to swallow the sweet blood that immediately welled through the wounds and into his mouth. His grip had been so strong that, while she had tried to arch and lean away from him, all she could succeed in doing was closing her eyes.

There was a whistle through the air and then a pained howl.

She had felt the pain from the bite, but what she felt more of was suddenly being coated in _goo_. Gasping, she opened her eyes to find herself covered. Lucian gone. But that arrow had what looked like an eyeball at the end of it. There on the stone ground.

"What the hell!" She stared at the spot and immediately whirled around to see who was out there.

A group of three men leapt from the bushes and sprinted across the lawn, armed with crossbows and shotguns. The few other vampires that were outside got shot as well, exploding upon impact, and then Lilly heard further commotion from inside: More men ambushed the other entrances, at least fifteen of them, sending the entire party in a panic. Shots rang out, cries of death as more vampires perished.

The three men ran onto the balcony and shouted at Lillian in a foreign tongue, and while she didn't understand them, she immediately realized who they were. They flailed their hands, before rushing to the doors to the growing chaos inside.

"Allez! Mademoiselle, s'en allez!"

The hunters threw open the door and without delay started letting loose their allotment of weaponry, taking out anyone with red filled glasses in their hands and even some that simply carried themselves like vampires. Remains were everywhere. It covered the chairs, the marble floor, even people!

"Eric!" Lilly yelled out in the chaos as she tried to find him.

She finally spotted him by the far wall. Without a care for herself, she took off, dodging around screaming people and weaving around tables to try and get to him.

He heard and saw her and made straight for her, his silver suit covered in one of his comrade's guts, but Eric was intercepted before he reached Lilly—a hunter threw himself at him, swiping with his crossbow, aiming for his chest.

He missed, of course, utterly unmatched. Eric rounded on the hunter with such speed that the man had absolutely no time to even turn, before his crossbow was ripped straight out of his hands and thrashed into his face, shattering his jaw upon impact. His eyes rolled and he collapsed to the ground.

"Lillian!" Eric grabbed her by the arm, while one of the side exits remained clear. It was their only chance.

"Stop!" a man suddenly yelled in English.

"Everybody freeze!" shouted another. They tried to calm the panicked crowd, vampire and human alike. "We shoot to kill, so do not attempt any'sing!"

Everywhere, wide eyes stared at the men baring their crossbows. Even the humans cowered, not knowing what was going on, though the vampires that were left had a pretty good idea.

"Vampire one side, human other!" The men began to separate. Anyone with a bite mark counted as human.

Though Eric and Lilly paused, watching the chaotic sorting, they were already by the door. If they stayed, they were done for. The hunters planned to kill every vampire in the room, including the King. At that very instant, he flew from where he was, very much alive among his pile of subjects, and attacked the leader of human pack, all but ripping his head straight off.

The pandemonium recommenced without further disruption.

Eric shoved Lilly ahead of him and out the door, into the night where the coast seemed momentarily clear.

"Eric, just go. I'll get back, but it's not safe for you here," Lilly told him as they all but sprinted for the stairs that would lead down to the grass.

If they made it to the ground, they would be in the clear. They could take it around, grab a car and get out of there. Even if that didn't work, they could always take off into the woods.

But the pair got no more than ten feet when four more hunters stepped out in front of them, and about five more behind them.

"Arrêtez, vampire!" ordered the leader. "Let her go!"

Eric snarled and bared his fangs, shoving Lilly behind him. Before she stopped him, he rounded on the humans, grabbing the nearest and viciously throwing him aside. Then he grabbed another and narrowly missed an arrow that was fired his way. It grazed his shoulder, burning. He ignored it. A shotgun swung and he broke the arm, followed by another's neck and a spine. A shot fired, just as the vampire leapt out of the way. Eric glanced to find that Lillian had joined the fray as well.

She rendered one weaponless and fired at those surrounding him, and while she got them, there were more still to be fended off.

"Lillian, run! Get out of here!" managed Eric, before he felt a bullet pierce his back. He spun round and tore the gun out of his assailant's hands.

The hunter didn't bother answering and concentrated on trying to buy them enough time to flee. There was no way she was just going to up and leave him. But things only got worse.

Though the majority of the hunters were inside working on the segregating, some had left to investigate the sound of the gunshots.

Lillian did the best she could, fended off blows. The problem was the sheer number of them. When she saw Eric stagger, however, all thoughts went out the window. The silver seared him from inside. With the vampire now slowed and wounded, the hunters circled like hyenas.

They aimed at Eric, raising their bows to finish him off—the shots fired as he barely managed to duck.

The barrage kept coming!

With the silver quickly poisoning him inside, Eric's movements got more sluggish. A crossbow bolt grazed his arm, making him hiss. Another gun went off behind him, and bracing himself for the hit, the vampire spun around to face his end.

He was a warrior from the days of old and never would he face death with a blind eye.

Rather than see the bullet whirring towards him though, he saw Lilly. She stood before him unmoving, her brown eyes wide.

Strangely, the firing stopped in an instant.

The hunters stared at them as Lilly moved her hands down to her stomach. Slowly, she pulled them away from her black dress, and the red that came away shone brightly on her skin.

Seeing her hands, the man that stood behind her blanched and gestured, speaking in wild French about how she had ran in front of him while he'd shot at the vampire. It wasn't his fault! He would never shoot a human, even if she _was_ with a vampire…

But Lilly didn't hear any of the arguing and swallowed. She couldn't stop staring at her hands. She had been covered in Lucian's gore before, but now it was as though only _her_ blood remained.


	15. Pictures of Home

I'm alone here.

With emptiness, eagles and snow,  
Unfriendliness chilling my body,  
And talking 'bout pictures of home.

Here in this prison of my own making  
Year after day I have grown  
Into a hero, but there's no worship  
Where have they hidden my throne?

~Deep Purple

. . .

With a look of confusion on her face, she looked up at Eric and felt her knees start to go weak.

"Are you…okay?" she asked, clenched her hands into fists.

"Lilly," he breathed.

He caught her in his arms before she fell. His fangs popped out. He pressed his fingers to her dress, where her blood seeped thick and swift, pervading the air. Warm, raw and deep—right where it was fatal. She had…_shielded_ him? She took the shot for him. What had gone through her mind? Frozen, Eric frantically searched her features for an answer.

"Lillian—_What did you do_?"

The woman smiled up at him weakly. "I _had_—to."

The hunters were arguing amongst themselves over what to do, though one or two watched Eric with Lilly in his arms. There was nothing that could be done.

She lifted a shaky hand to his bicep. "A-are _you_ okay?" she asked him again. Eric brushed off the concern and unexpectedly sneered at her.

"You stupid girl!" he said. Then, he looked up at the remaining hunters and roared so menacingly that they jumped back from startle. If there weren't so little time, the vampire would've ripped each of them apart.

Now he had to hurry.

Securing in Lilly arms, Eric launched into the night without further thought. Regardless of his own injuries, he narrowly dodged arrows that flew after them, maneuvering his way through the air, around the chateau where the chaos was still happening, and carried Lillian far across the trees…until he spotted a safe clearing and swiftly landed there.

Shielded by cliffs, no one would find them. Eric lowered the girl against a low-angled rock and hurriedly undid his sleeve, baring his fangs once more.

The pain was incredible. Slowly, Lilly closed her eyes and her hand fell out of her lap and onto the cold earth. Her once-black dress now glinted with a red sheen around her torso. Her breathing began to lighten and her mind swirled.

"Eric," she whispered.

He bit into his wrist and helped lift her head—his blood was the only way for her to heal. "Take it," he told her.

Lilly felt the new warmth on her chin and turned her head away from him, frowning, her eyes mere slits. "No…" Her strength was waning. She couldn't even lift a hand to push him away.

"Take it!" Eric ordered again. "Or you'll die." He'd force her if he had to.

"Eric… no," she said again, and opened her eyes marginally more to look up at him.

"Lillian!"

"I—can't… I won't—use you…"

"So you want to _die_ instead?" he questioned, too loudly for her ears. Her pulse was distinctly slower, her breathing faint. His grip on her neck tightened as he growled furiously and bit into his wrist again, for it already healed.

"It's the only way. Take it now!" The man all but shoved his blood in her face. "_I _refuse to _lose you_."

She had winced and tried to keep her reasoning fresh in her mind, but hearing his last words and the fact that he was ordering her take his blood started to sway her. How _could_ she be using him if he was freely offering?

Hesitantly, Lilly opened her mouth.

Had he not been holding her neck, she would not have been able to keep her head steady. With his wrist poised just above her lips, the blood washed in. Though it took a couple swallows, her strength slowly began to return, and her tongue darted out to lick her lips before drinking more of what he offered.

He watched and held her to him, obliging her with as much of his blood as she needed. After a while, a strange sensation filled her and she began to lull away, feeling and seeing everything glow around her. Everything was warm and pleasant, airy…cloud-like. She no longer felt the pain—it all went miraculously away. Like a drug. And his blood tasted so wonderful she found herself wanting more and more. But Eric had to wean her off before she overcooked herself.

She felt better than she had before. When his wrist left her mouth, she lifted her head towards it, trying to follow it. A smile crossed her face as she looked up at him with drowsy eyes.

"Eric."

He'd saved her, but since she no longer had to drink, she felt the fatigue and her eyes closed. She slipped off into heavy sleep.

* * *

The ground was muddy, leveled by a stampede of men from earlier, and the sky was filled with a deep, foreboding gloom that hung thick and heavy over the ghostly, naked trees. There was the smell of death in the air. It had swept across the land and took everyone that it could with it, allowing for no pleads or protests. Those few that survived were lucky.

The battle had been won by neither side. All that had resulted from it was unexpected misfortune, the odds predicted wrong. The gods had taken their luck away this time and all they could do now was accept their fortune. Next time, there would be another fight.

But for _him_ it was the end. He felt it, he already saw it. Soon Valhalla would greet him, gates of gold open for him to enter. There would be meat and mead, women galore. He would be in paradise—a hero's reward. This he knew was his fate. His knees already felt weak, his legs barely walking on their own. His comrades were carrying him and planned to stay with him until the end, in spite of their leader's objections.

"Go! Go without me. You cannot keep carrying me like this."

"And we cannot let you die alone," said one of his men. "We will not leave you!"

"Yes, you will," he gasped through his pain. "You will leave me and go back home. Go back to your wives and children. Tell them…tell them of what happened."

"It would be wrong to leave you. We are your men. We are your friends. We won't let you fade alone," the other man said quickly, grimacing under his weight.

As the two men walked, practically dragging their fallen general, they stepped into a dense cope of trees, but it wasn't the horror that was expected. Rather than the ground being covered in mud and possibly more blood like where they had come, bristle grass and dried leaves made up their floor.

"Here," said one men to the other. They quickly settled their leader down against a fallen log. "You will get a hero's farewell," the man promised him as he clutched their leader's arm.

Giving a strained chuckle, he tried to wave him off, but his other friend caught his hand.

"You have saved our lives a hundred times before, Eric. You've led us through battles we never thought we'd win. We will not leave you to the wolves. We will see you off to Valhalla…where the gods await you."

Eric closed his eyes and let his head fall back, heaving a shallow sigh. He swallowed and fought through the pain in his chest. It was already numbing him, beginning to carry him away. As he lay there for, he thought he could already feel _Death's_ presence. It greeted him warmly, shining upon him and stretching out a slender hand. It was beautiful, a heavenly creature that gazed down on him. He wanted to fade away in its warm, gentle eyes…

The creature smiled and gently touched his cheek with ethereal fingertips.

"You have done well, Eric Norðmaðr. Face your reward as you have faced your life… With the spirit of a warrior," her voice was soft, almost lilting.

As Eric weakened further, more of the creature was revealed to him. She had long, waving, blonde tresses, and upon her head was the winged helmet so common in warriors' dreams, yet so rare out of them.

"Come with me, Norðmaðr. Come take your place at the table."

Now, it was as though she had taken him to a whole different world. His men were gone, but the warrior still sat in the same cope of trees. Eric stared at her, weakly lifting his head to properly see her. She was bathed in a golden glow that pierced straight through the gloom and death, lighting the trees, the ground all around. And there behind her, he saw a waiting stallion, whose regal wings flailed and beckoned. He knew who she was, where she was taking him.

Slowly heaving himself up, the Viking stretched his hand.

"I-I am awaited?" he asked, hesitant to believe this dream.

"You are _expected_," she confirmed with a smile, moving her hand down from his face towards his hand to take it. "Come, and Svava will take you there."

The stallion behind them, eager, reared and called out into the air, before his front hooves fell back to earth and struck at the dirt. But, just as their fingers were about to touch, a blur cut through them.

A blur severed the few inches between their hands. It made the golden creature quickly step back, never connecting with Eric's hand.

No sooner had two screams rent the air than another, much darker figure suddenly appeared above the fallen Viking who, without the creature's presence, once again lapsed into fatigue.

Eric stared up at the silhouette that dared to interrupt his dream, but he had no energy to project his fury. The other creature was nowhere in sight—she was gone, all her warmth and glow. Now, cold and darkness replaced it, and the promise of heaven disappeared.

"My-my men," the hero whispered. He saw the unmoving bodies on the ground.

"Dead," the dark-haired boy responded with a smile. Blood dripped down his chin…

* * *

"Norðmaðr!" Lilly gasped.

Her eyes sprung open. She was back in Eric's room. Safe.

The room was dark, and after realizing that she was in bed, she looked down at her stomach and covered it with her hands, half expecting to find blood pooling there, but her silk nightgown was spotless. There wasn't a single smear of blood anywhere on her.

Having heard her, Eric entered the room and showed visible relief, for she'd been sleeping an alarming while—through an entire day. His blood had affected her greatly, and though he'd become slightly worried, perhaps her body had just needed the extra time to recuperate. This had been her first, after all. The first dose was always had the greatest effect. But she was healed and that was all that mattered.

Eric sat in the chair beside her and took her hand, gently coaxing her back down. "How do you feel?" he asked.

She looked uncertain at first. "I… how did we get home? Wait, how are _you_?" Immediately, upon remembering that he'd been shot with silver, she tried to sit up again.

"I'm fine," he answered shortly without much concern towards himself. "I've long healed. I brought you home last night. You've been asleep for the whole day."

Lilly shifted so that she'd be more comfortable sitting up and said with some surprise: "Well… I feel fine." Lifting her free hand up to her face, she rubbed it and shook her head. "I feel like I'm on drugs. And I had the _strangest_ dream."

As she looked up at him, she felt like she was seeing more of him for the first time. She could see the softness behind his eyes, and hers always kept stealing glances at his lips.

"Our blood has a tendency to affect humans in ways that might be similar to drugs," Eric clarified, and then smirked slightly because he saw that she was still a bit loopy. "Which may be why you were experiencing strange sensations… But there aren't any negative side effects," he assured. "Though you very well might begin to feel slightly different for the next week or so," the man then added with faint insinuation. "Some senses heightened, more aware."

"Is that so?" Lillian said softly, while staring at his mouth.

"And increased sexual…appetite," he added.

"I saw you with long hair," she said suddenly. She lifted a hand towards his check to touch it ever-so-lightly with her fingertips, just as she saw done in the dream. "So vulnerable."

"What are you talking about?" Eric said with minor confusion.

"I—what?" she asked, snapping out of it. "Nothing, just the strange dream I had." Her brow furrowed and she leaned back, wanting to say the name she'd heard. "_You_ were in it."

He was silent a moment and regarded her contemplatively, his expression more solemn. He didn't like being called vulnerable but let it slide.

"Dreaming about me could also be an effect," he said after he saw that she became attentive again. "An effect…of our bond."

"What bond?" Now it was Lilly's turn to regard him.

"Our connection," Eric told her, and clasped her hand in both of his, inclining forward to be closer to her. He brought her hand to his mouth and smiled as he nestled it against his lips. "We are connected now. I'll be able to sense your emotions. I'll be able to know where you are... You can call on me if you ever need me."

Still reeling from the aftereffects of his blood, Lillian smiled and let the previous subject drop as he kissed her.

"No stalking," she told him with a small grin. She leaned towards him to kiss his cheek, though she soon shifted to his mouth and found his lips. "_Norðmaðr_."

But Eric pulled away from the kiss with slight defensiveness in his tone. "How do you know that name?"

"I—don't know," she replied honestly. Maybe she had seen it on a book somewhere in his home, and, in her drugged state, it filled her mind with some fairytale dream. "I just—know it."

He stared at her, searching her features, his own becoming more perplexed. If she dreamt about him, then that might explain it. Lilly's eyes were hazy, trailed vague remnants of what she thought she heard and saw. The word she spoke was pronounced spot-on and wasn't random, which surprised him.

"That was my name," he informed her with some hesitance. "Norðmaðr. Eric Norðmaðr."

Lilly was just as puzzled as he was.

"I _saw_ you," she explained, narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, seeing the dream again.

"All right."

"Never mind. It was just a dream." There was no point in putting any stock in it. "Maybe I just saw it on one of your books somewhere."

"Mm. Most likely."

For now Eric decided to disregard it, not wanting to deal with the odd coincidence. Then, he joined her on the bed in one fluid motion. Snaking her round the waist, he pulled her flush to him and seized her mouth in a deep, warm kiss. She had no choice but to comply, and he sought to take advantage of her wholly willing, dazed state.

He would tell her about what happened to the hunters and vampires later (and scold her for her reckless act as well)—but for the moment they were safe and there was nothing to worry about. They would be alone down below while they were guarded up above by several security men, lest anything should happen. But nothing was going to, while they had a chance to make up for that horrid, chaotic night.

* * *

Fettuccini Alfredo was truly a dish made by some evil genius Italian chef hundreds of years ago. It was perfect! The sauce had just the right amount of salt and the way the parsley pieces dotted the entire creamy white dish, it looked like a heavenly sugar cookie.

Lilly sat at the bar eating her "breakfast" that the chef had prepared for her. Though she would have much rather had chocolate chip pancakes, the fact that it was dark outside and many of the staff had left for the night made her choose a more nightly meal. Of course, she was still in her pajamas, which ruined the dinner idea. She'd slept the whole day through and felt better than she had in a very long time.

Winding the pasta around her fork, she melted before it reached her mouth. The delicious, steaming bite sent her taste buds in a total fritz of ecstasy—it tasted just as wonderful as it looked, maybe more, and Lilly relished each slow, tantalizing chew, swallowing with care and joy.

Little did she know that it was the vampire blood that heightened her tastebuds.

And then, the chef offered her a plate of salad and she couldn't help but squeal in further delight—the fresh greens and feta cheese and onions, and even tomatoes. There were all so colorful and bright. Oh, and the vinegar and oil melded together, glistening drops gently caressing the vegetables. Her stomach clenched and begged for more, and the girl could only answer with enthusiasm. Her fork stabbed the salad and accompanied the pasta, while chef watched from where he was by the sink, smiling at the girl's overeager. It was as if she hadn't eaten in days, which was partly true, though there was something a little strange going on.

Before the chef could cautiously inquire about Lillian's wellbeing, the master of the house suddenly appeared. And the French chef hurriedly went back to his business. Eric eyed him briefly, then peered around Lilly, half-amused and half-puzzled, for he didn't find the food nearly as appetizing.

"Lilly, we have a change of plans," he informed by her ear. "Most of the hunters were killed or detained last night, but there's is still a chance of another attack. So it's not safe here."

"So we're heading back to Shreveport?" she asked before taking another bite of her salad. "_Mmm_…" she intoned, smiling up at him.

As his words then sunk in, she couldn't hide the small frown that replaced her smile. She shouldn't have been happy about hunters being taken down, but after seeing what they had done…

"We could," Eric said as he sat beside her, clasped his hands on the bar counter. "But our holiday would be cut short then…" There was another idea flickering mischievously beneath his gaze, to make up for their foiled rest here in Canada.

"I was hoping I'd be able to persuade you to let us prolong it elsewhere, that is if you think you can be without your brother and partner for a little while longer," he said. "We will go where no one can bother us, not even any friends of mine."

That idea had her perking up. "Really? And where did you have in mind?"

"We'll go back to the States. How does the city sound? Perhaps Chicago," he offered, smirked.

"I've never actually _visited_ Chicago before." Lilly placed her fork on the edge of her plate and turned in her chair to face him with another smile. "I might be willing to entertain having a vacation there."

The Sheriff chuckled and said, "Good," before he glanced pointedly at the chef who had been overhearing nosily. One look from Eric had him nervous and scurrying out of the kitchen since neither of them required his service.

"We'll leave tomorrow night," Eric said as he returned to Lillian, "and stay there for a few more days."

Pam would be pi-_issed_, but he planned to reward his progeny for her loyalties with a vacation of her own. She was so very obedient, despite how oh-so mad he knew he made her. It was just a little jealousy.

"Then I look forward to it," Lilly replied, still very smiley. The girl hopped off of her bar stool and stood in between it and him, resting her hands on his thighs. "I suppose we get to sit here bored until tomorrow night then?"

"Or we could…resume where we left off, before you told me you were hungry and ran off." Eric hoped that she took care of it for the rest of the night and added, with a glint in his eye: "I trust you feel better now."

"I feel much better, thank you," she replied with an impish grin. "I can't help it if you get to snack while we have fun. Some of us don't have that luxury."

The woman slipped away from him and focused on her food once more.

He sighed but could only wait until she was done. When she was, he swept her off her feet and, after making sure the coast was clear from the prying eyes of his servants, spirited them away back into the depths of his lair, locking the door and hiding the key so no one would bother them until the sun rose.

* * *

_Elsewhere…_

His mouth was dry and tasted like dirt.

That was the first thing Scott noticed as he felt his mind stirring awake. The second was that his shoulders ached. When he tried to straighten them, he found that he couldn't bring his arms forward and his wrists felt chafed. Immediately, his eyes sprung open and it quickly became clear why he couldn't move his arms: They were bound with rope and tied to an eyebolt that was buried in the cement floor he lay over.

He'd been clothed in a pair of gray sweat pants, but whoever had done this to him apparently didn't think he warranted a shirt and so left him bare-chested. But aside from the typical small little nicks and bruises that he usually saw after a full moon, he was unharmed.

Scott was in a shitty, small shack—at least that's what it appeared to be. The walls were wooden and so was the ceiling, old and grimy and covered in thick cobwebs. Streaks of light filtered through the cracks between the boards, casting sharp lines across the cracked floor. There were old boxes in the corners, piled atop one another and filled with junk contents, but either way, he couldn't reach them, stuck in the middle of the floor as he was. It was clearly day, though what time it was, he couldn't tell. There was a vague smell of smoke in the stuffy air…

Somewhere close by there must have been a fire burning. He heard people, too, though their talk was indistinguishable. But they sounded male and they were laughing, laughing about something unknown that put Scott immediately on edge.

If they were other hunters, and if he'd been caught, then it was certainly the end for him.

Then he heard footsteps. And they seemed to be approaching. Heavy boots, on top of a heavy frame, and something distinctly metal swinging in a hand. Then another pair of boots, slender ones, seemingly female. The two walked with firm gait and straight for his door, which was locked shut.

Well and truly caught, Scott could do nothing but watch as the door opened and two figures entered. His judging of the footwear turned out to be accurate, for one was a man, and the other a woman, but immediately something seemed off.

"You're awake," the man said with a smirk.

He hefted the metal bucket of water he carried and poured it into a discarded Big Gulp cup from Seven-11. The plastic straw danced around the edge, bobbing as it sat in the clear liquid.

Scott growled in a small snarl. "What is this?"

It was still too close to the full moon and he was feeling very frenzied. Even his hair was shaggier than usual, his lips pulling back from his teeth much easier.

"It's just water," the women assured. Actually, she was a girl who looked to be no older than twenty. There was something vaguely canine about her features, but she smiled surprisingly warmly, offering the poor captive a shirt she'd found for him. It was old and gray though appeared clean enough.

"Here, put it on, and drink."

The man knelt down behind him and cut the bonds, which allowed Scott's arms to spring forward. "Don't think just because you're not tied, you can run," he told Scott with a grin.

Noting the man's lumberjack-like appearance, Scott didn't argue that point and after rolling his shoulders, he pulled the shirt on over his head. Being covered made him feel a bit better.

The lumberjack stood up and said: "So go ahead an' drink. Might as well take you for a walk with your arms free."

"Walk?" Scott parroted in confusion. He took a pull of the water through the straw. As soon as the liquid touched his parched tongue, he began sucking it down and half of the Big Gulp was gone in several seconds.

"Yer gonna have to take a piss, aren't you?"

The girl smiled and snorted slightly, crossing her arms.

"I'll leave you two gentlemen then. Meet me by the pit," she said. And then she stepped out of the shack to leave, but not before glancing back at Scott. "You're probably hungry too. The barbecue's almost done. You like barbecue, right?"

But he didn't respond, and just looked up at her with an open mouth and confused, narrowed eyes.

"I'll take care of him," the big man said as he waved the girl off. "Probably too close to the turn, still can't think straight. But he'll get the hang over it. Come on then, pup, finish yer water."

Scott's head snapped up at him as it finally dawned on him. His lips twitched ever-so-slightly as he accused:

"That's _it_! You're one of them!" He climbed into a crouch and backed away, not finishing the water.

Laughing, the man watched the boy and only shook his head in pity.

"And _you're_ one of us," he told him with curt nod. "S'a good thing we found ya in time or you woulda been a lost cause out there on your lonesome. Come on, get up."

The man reached for Scott's arm, and before he could duck away from it, Scott was grabbed and hauled up by a strong grip that he couldn't free from. The man had to have been six-foot-six, maybe taller, and weighed at least three-hundred pounds, maybe heavier. He could've been a pro wrestler, his size was that daunting. He had closely cropped hair, heavy brows, and a large nose. His accent was southern.

"Les'go, boy. Gabe wants to see you."

Scott was led out of the shack door and didn't even remember about his bare feet—his eyes widened and he took in all the new sites and sounds. There were people everywhere, the good majority of which were men, but still a small share of women. All of them carefully watched the newcomer, wild gazes guarded. This obvious campground was in a large clearing, surrounded by thick forest. Little did Scott know how many miles it was away from civilization.

The big man led him away from the others and towards a small stand of trees, where he grinned, revealing wickedly sharp canines. "Do yer thing then, and we'll go meet Gabe."

The tree stank of urine, making the boy's nose flare. He did as asked, not yet wanting to make trouble, and when he was done, he turned around to face the man, his shoulders square and chest puffed.

"Who is Gabe?"

"Our leader."

The man slapped a large hand on his back and pushed him forward as they returned back to the camp, where the barbeque lay cooked and ready on a very long wood table, glistening in all its juicy glory. There was a whole, wonderfully roasted deer, three boars, half a dozen chickens and rabbits—an entire feast.

Scott found himself in momentary awe, his mouth salivating. The air carried the delicious warmth and juices. The skins of the animals, crispy and golden, shone with the light of the sun high in the sky above. And all of them were caught there in nature where they were residing. Scott hadn't realized how hungry he was.

That girl was there, and beside her stood a man. He was dark-haired and bearded like most of them there, but there was a clear regality about his presence that everyone else lacked. His gaze, equally dark, was naturally scrutinizing, though his face lit with the same warm smile as the girl had. He welcomed Scott to the table and raised a hand to his shoulder.

"Welcome to my clan. You must be ravenous. Take a seat," he had an accent that sounded vaguely European, unexpectedly exotic to the ears, yet noble sounding. "We have prepared a feast especially for you."

"For me? Why?"

None of this was right. People didn't just wake up in the middle of the woods tied down and then have a feast thrown in their honor by those very same people that had held them in the first place.

"Why was I tied down in your shack?" Scott questioned, before anyone could answer his first question.

"Relax," the leader placated lightly. The other clansmen gathered around them. "You were half turned when we brought you here, still riled and disoriented. It was only supposed to be for the night, until you managed to calm down. We could tell you were newly turned," he smiled slightly. "Only several moons ago—though your control is surprisingly better than of most pups. We were impressed."

"This is my fourth month." Scott looked around. "Did I hurt anyone?"

"We're used to it, pup," said the big man from before. "Nothin' we haven't seen before."

So many had crowded around him, at least twenty (only a few children), and he wasn't sure if it was because they thought he might snap at any moment or because they thought he needed their comfort. The people watched them with eager smiles.

"Who are you?"

They were werewolves, but what were they doing all together? It was because of creatures like _them_ that Scott had been infected—the thought made his eyes harden. Gabe saw and smelled his distrust but didn't react to it, deeming it only natural for a pup.

"I am Gabriel, someone just like you," he said gently and then gestured to his clan, "and so are they. Now you aren't alone anymore."

The leader noticed the others growing impatient with hunger and finally waved for them to commence the feast. He beckoned Scott to sit and said to him: "Let's eat, then we will continue talking. I know you are confused, but it will all be better soon. We will help you. I promise."

Scott surveyed him a little longer out of suspicion. Either Gabriel was a very believable liar, or he was telling the truth.

The deer and boars were ripped apart, eliciting groans all around, and the chickens and rabbits were quickly snatched with greedy grins. While there were no eating utensils, at least there were plates available, though most preferred the rough, wooden surface of the table.

Scott tried to resist the food, but the smell and sight of it was just too much. He still didn't trust them. But he really _was_ ravenous, and he reached out and grabbed a piece of the meet, growling when the big man from earlier—he sat beside Scott —got too close to it. The lumberjack of course just laughed and grabbed his own slab.

"You'll learn the pack soon enough," he said through a chuckle and mouthful of his own meat.

The pack ate, Scott included, and soon enough the food was all gone. Sated and full, he was calm and reclined back in his chair with his hands over his belly.

"One of the best meals you'll ever have, pup," said one of the men.

* * *

"I'm really… I shouldn't have lost control like that," Scott said again for the third time.

He and Gabe were out beyond the immediate grounds that the pack used as their living space. The pack leader had invited him out on a walk. _Even_ after a rather embarrassing slip of control—everyone had handled it so well! They had restrained Scott until he'd gained his footing again, and then slapped him on the back and acted like it had never happened.

"You are new. In time you will learn," Gabe assured him, "as we all once did. So there is nothing to be sorry for. We will help you."

Once again, the promise chilled Scott slightly—and the squeeze on his shoulder. He didn't even know these people, let alone of their pack's existence, and they seemed to genuinely want to help. There had to be something beneath that fatherly air Gabe carried, an alternative motive… There had to.

"Here we are hidden away in the mountains, where no human can find us, where we are able to be ourselves," Gabe went on to explain, gestured to the nature around them, the complete and utter solitude of the Appalachian hills.

The younger man nodded but didn't immediately respond. He could feel the privacy that Gabe referred and, yet, while he was comforted by it, it also almost felt _restraining_. It was an odd thought considering there were miles and miles of empty mountains and cheese. His humanity—his other half—bulked against it. It wasn't meant to dwell in the emptiness of nature.

"It's beautiful," Scott finally admitted, though the hesitance in his voice was unmistakable. "Why are you so accepting of me? Just because of what I've become?"

Gabe laughed disbelievingly at his tone.

"You speak of it as if you are plagued deadly curse," he said, even though that was exactly what Scott thought. "Well, it is not a curse! You've been given a gift, Scott, a gift you now have a chance to hone. An advantage that few in this world have. We help out our brethren because it is our duty and has been for thousands of years."

Scott could tell Gabe must've been old…and seemingly wise, but he appeared as if he was in his mid-thirties. He had to have come from abroad somewhere because he was clearly not from America, and he'd taken his pack with him. Then, it grew here in the States.

"In time you will learn to become one with your new nature. It is the _only_ way to survive. You must accept it before you begin to harness it," he said sagely to Scott, and paused to gravely regard him.

But Scott wasn't at ease in the least with what he was.

"There's nothing to harness," the younger man replied. "I'm a beast. I could tear up my girlfriend at any moment, and this _thing_ inside me wouldn't feel anything by it."

At least, that was what he assumed. Gabe frowned at his deep pessimism, let out a sigh.

"Would you believe me if I told you that almost my entire pack has complete control over the wolves in them?" he asked. "The moon will always have an effect on us, but we have long reined ourselves and learned to embrace our natures. Even our youngest."

Before he could squash it, a small kernel of hope took root inside him Scott. Was it really possible?

"So…you can be around humans and others and not have to worry about losing control?"

"Yes," Gabe answered, and then resumed walking at a brisk pace. "But we do not befriend humans." There was a pointed warning in his voice for Scott. "Nor anyone else that is not like us. They bring with them their guns and their hate."

"It's impossible not to befriend them, Gabe. I want to learn your ways and control the wolf, but it's impossible _not_ to befriend them." Scott gestured to his chest with one hand and then out away from him with his other. "I have a family out there that I have to protect. I can't leave them."

Forget the fact that he was a hunter.

Though slight annoyance flickered briefly across Gabe's face, the man forced a smile and clasped Scott's shoulder. He gently replied to his naivety:

"With time you will see that you are too different from them…and they will never truly understand what it is like to be us."

Scott's expression faltered.

"Come. Let's return to the camp. We will have a bonfire tonight, as we do at the end of every moon. You will get a chance to meet the rest of the pack. Perhaps they will be more persuasive than I." Gabe smiled good-naturedly and started back down the little forest path.

Still unsure, Scott followed at a much slower pace but followed nonetheless.

Gabe was wrong. Marylin had proven that. She accepted him for what he was. _Didn't_ she?

* * *

_Later…_

He tried to pretend that he was enjoying himself, as he sat simply watching the festivities and merriment, and idly listened to the music that pumped from the old stereo system off to the side. The moon hung bright and high in the sky, and he was feeling edgy again, even though it was waning. He took slow, deep breaths in hopes of avoiding its glowing, blatant presence—everyone else had control.

They weren't condemning the moon, they were celebrating it. As if it was their god and they simply accepted, embraced it—as Gabe had said. They harnessed its gift and went about their enjoyment.

Nobody was pushing him to interact, despite the expectant stares that came his way, but Scott expected someone to eventually come by and pester him. Indeed, he heard the footsteps that approached him, even all the way on the other side of the fire, and fortunately had a moment or two to brace himself. Slow, deep breaths.

A beer bottle was swung in front of his face and he caught it before it was let go.

"Thought it looked like you needed one." It was the girl from earlier, and she fell beside him upon the log he sat. "You're still tense," she said, and it wasn't a question but a correct observation.

Scott sighed and forced a grin on his face as he nodded and twisted off the cap.

"Yeah, I am." He glanced over at her briefly before looking at the others. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about what Gabe had said.

The girl took a long swig from her own bottle and casted a glance at the table that was lined with several coolers, including a couple rows of bottles, some of which were green.

"Well, drink. We've got plenty more. Have you tried absinthe before?" she asked Scott casually. "It helps take the edge off too. Gabe gets it imported, so it's straight from the homeland."

Scott's eyes went to the tables.

"I thought it was illegal," he replied. Then again, it wasn't like he was a prude when it came to things illegal. Almost nervously, he lifted a free hand and scratched his head behind his ear. He was fidgety.

"So it helps with the…urge?"

The girl grinned, shrugging and saying: "Helps me, and it gives you a nice kick." She looked at the moon, noticing he was trying hard not to look at it. "Come on. It'll help you take your mind off Her."

She stood, held out her hand. Though he didn't accept it, Scott did rise and looked at her in confusion.

"Her?" His thoughts immediately jumped to Marylin. Did she know about her?

"The Greeks called her Selene," the girl said as she started to the 'bar', much to his relief. "The Hindus Anumati, the Mayans called her Tecciztecatl… Others just Luna. Even though we refer to the moon as a 'her', we don't worship her as a god or anything," she quickly assured as if noticing his perplexed look behind her. "We just pay our respects. Be aware of her…but try to _relax_. Tell yourself she is not bad, but simply a force of nature. Which she is. Otherwise…we wouldn't have beaches. And everyone likes beaches, right?"

They passed by Gabe briefly, and he knowingly smirked at the girl and she smirked back, before she and Scott arrived at the table where their little green fairy was waiting. Intrigued by her knowledge, Scott watched her prepare their drinks.

"Yeah, sure," he said with forced eager. He accepted a glass when she was done.

Carefully he tested the liquid with a small taste and, not finding it repulsive, took a slightly longer sip. Automatically, his eyes lifted to the moon hanging full in the sky and his pupils dilated, his breathing increased. His heart beat faster, harder. Hit the inside of his ribs. But—that was all. The rest he wrestled inside, tried hard to not show his struggle.

"Toss it all back," she advised. She, a pro, took her own glass in one go, grinning with revelment. Then she promptly made another for him and lit the sugar cube, while the 'barman' watched in amusement.

Clearly, Scott was greener than the fairy herself.

"Oh…" he quickly accepted the second one. This time he tossed it back and found himself grinning as well.

An instant burning to the throat, then a nice warmth that followed all the way to the stomach. And that warmth lasted a while. He focused on it, imagining a little blaze inside his belly. It relaxed him.

"It does kind of help, doesn't it?" he said. His pupils returned to their normal size and his fidgeting movements ceased.

The girl gave a curt nod and grabbed another beer for herself. Then, thanking the barman who was named Lex, she walked down the long table until they were a little ways away and took a seat.

With a lopsided smile, she introduced herself: "I don't know if you remembered my name, but it's Vivian." She purposefully extended her hand again so he'd shake it. Just as warm as his. "There's a lot of people here for you to remember."

"Scott." He took her hand while he sat down as well. "I never realized there were packs like this. At least not of this size."

"We're the largest, and more organized—at least the only one I know of. Most consist of a dozen people, couple families, sadly. Back in Europe there are more of us," she said. There was something wistful about Vivian, and sad, and for a moment her gaze was clouded. Then she squashed anything she let through with a quick drink.

"That's where Gabe's from—Romania actually. Long time ago he brought some others with him too. Most are still left. That guy," she pointed to a passing guy. "Dmitry, he's one of them."

Scott looked over at the man—a tall man with a long nose and sharp dark eyes—and nodded. What Gabe had managed to put together was incredible. Most werewolves that he had known before his turning might have craved a familial pack-like atmosphere but were too moody and territorial to actually make one succeed. Everything he'd seen that day, however, forced him to rethink his previous assumptions.

"How long have you been with him?"

"With Gabe? Uh," Vivian briefly glanced at the ground between her feet as she recalled, "most of my life. But we're not…_together_ or anything like that. He's more like a father to me. All of us really. We owe him so much."

The man _had_ to have something up his sleeve. No one was as perfect as they made him out to be. Scott took a drink of his beer as he pondered.

"Mm… I bet." Then he stood and placed his bottle down onto the table. He raised his arms above his head and stretching. "I should feel tired, but—I have so much energy."

"Well, that's good. Means the absinthe helped." There was a little glint in her eye. "Want me to make you another one? Then, we can go dance."

Indeed, the music had adopted a quicker beat. Southern beats that made one want to grab someone's hands and swing them around for hours. But as Scott looked over to where the others were dancing he, as always, hesitated.

"I'll take another absinthe, but dancing isn't really my thing."

"Aw…" She paused in front of him, observed him disappointedly. But he seemed stubbornly unwilling with the remnants of his mood still lingering, so she then shrugged and didn't persist. "Suit yourself. But maybe the green fairy will help persuade you…"

Vivian trotted off and went to make his drink, adding a slightly greater dose than before. Once again, Gabe met her gaze and she gave him a shake of her head.

Sighing, Scott watched her go before bringing his attention back to those that were dancing. He had way too much to think about. This pack was making him rewrite his entire perspective on what he'd become. Though Gabe had said that they didn't live amongst humans, Scott always would. There was no way he could leave his sister and Marylin, and he missed his friends, Luke and Josh. They were a family, even if things were currently tense.

Soon Vivian returned with his drink, and one for herself, and mischievously smirked, having complete faith in the green fairy. She _would_ help persuade him—in dancing and among other things. No one could resist her charm, not even Scott.

In a matter of moments, the fiddle was whining and bass was plucking. The young wolf was dragged. Vivian pulled him close to her—he had no choice, for everyone else circled around them, as if on purpose.

There in Vivian's eyes, Scott saw green twinkles. He stared at him, memorized, as he was led round and round around the dance floor. The moon, in all its beautiful white glory didn't curse him for once. She smiled down at him. Hovered over him like a protective force. Nature, yes. He gazed up at her too, didn't realize he was grinning. For instead of anxiety, he felt relief. He sighed with utter calm for once.

And then Vivian bounced upwards on her toes to place a kiss right on his cheek.

* * *

Taking a couple days off had suited him better than he'd thought it would. Sam had traveled out of the state, took refuge up in the wilderness to get his bearings. A few days had been just what he'd needed, and much to his unending pleasure, Bon Temps hadn't been blown off the face of the earth or taken over by man-eating zombies in his absence. It seemed like life had actually returned to normal.

Content, Sam served two old women their extra servings of coleslaw, and after thanking them, wiped his hands together and headed back towards the bar. Even after what the town had gone through, nothing had changed. The people were still their simple selves.

Sookie milled about with Arlene, right as rain again—at least the former. Arlene was her usual anxious self, as she scurried about from customer to customer, her red hair looking brighter and bigger this time around. Terry and Lafayette were cooking in the kitchen, while Tara manned the other side of the bar along with Sam, stealing occasional shots when he wasn't looking.

During the day, traffic at _Merlotte's_ was slower anyway, calmer than the dinner rushes. Light country ambient music played from the jukebox, the ceiling fans steadily wound overhead, the breeze drifted through the windows.

All was calm—at least when the door jingled, announcing another customer, and Sam looked up to see who it was.

She walked in, clearly nervous to be back, uneasy and apprehensive. She looked around the place, noting who was there but finding mostly the elderly of the town, who were slow and leisurely, the waitresses attending to them smiley. All was as she expected, and while the calm eased her very slightly, and just for brief, it contrasted with her own air.

Sam knew something was wrong. He placed the washrag that he held onto the bar counter and went towards her. Worry creased his face.

"Marylin. What are you doin' back? I thought all of you'd skipped town already."

"We did…" Marylin looked around warily. She appeared as if she hadn't slept for days, or like she'd been crying, or something awful had happened, or both. She was alone, with neither Scott nor Lilly anywhere in sight, and was on the verge of hopelessness—abandonment.

"I came back because, uh—"

A smiling Sookie suddenly emerged and stopped midway to a table at the sight of hunter. "Marylin, you're back?" she just had to exclaim in her typical glee. "I thought you were gone!"

"I was, yeah, I came back... Uh," Marylin decided that perhaps it was best for Sookie not to meddle in her current situation. "I need to—I need to talk to you, Sam," Marylin said instead, looked to the man.

"Uh—yeah sure. Come on." He gestured for her to head back to his office, though his concerned-filled eyes never left her. "Let's head back to the office."

When they got there, the man told her to take a seat and remained standing himself. "What's goin' on? Where's your partner and friend?"

Marylin went for the chair but found she couldn't sit either. She crossed her arms to stop her panic from suffusing her entirely. Anxiety made her pace around the office.

"Lilly's—she's away somewhere," she said. "And Scott, I don't know where he is. I—I came here because I didn't know where else to go. Neither is answering their phones, and I think something happened."

"Okay, calm down," Sam advised gently. "We'll figure this out, but I need you to tell me everything that happened."

Marylin swallowed and let out a shaky breath, uncertain for a long moment. Sam was the last person even she thought she'd go to, but there was no one else. Her cousins were still hunting, and surely neither Sookie nor Bill would help if they found out about Scott. She wasn't sure if Sam would either, but it was too late now.

"Something happened…to Scott," Marylin finally began, averted his eyes. "He…left several days ago and was supposed to come back but he hasn't. He said that he would, after—"

"After what?" Sam prompted when the woman had stopped herself.

"After a hunt," she lied, before she could think twice. She was running on her nerves, and maybe this was the only way. "I was supposed to go with, but he left without me, and his phone died…and I found his car on the side of the road, but there was no sign of him anywhere near it."

"Well—whats about your friends?" Sam offered. "The ones you called before. Do they know anything?"

"No. My cousins are out hunting elsewhere, and Bobby's unable to make it either. And Lilly…like I said she's with Eric. They left Shreveport around a week ago and still aren't back. That's why I came to you." Marylin was desperate. "But I know you're busy here. I should've thought about that before."

Sam sighed and shook his head as he momentarily looked at the far wall.

"No, I'll help you out. I'm glad you came." He smiled kindly when he turned back to her. "I'll help you find him."

"You will?" The woman had to suppress some minor guilt, but she had no one else to turn to. "You're sure?"

"I'm not gonna let you go out there and try and find him on your own," he told her with a grin. "Just let me take care of a couple of things here and we'll head out."

Giving her one last reassuring smile, he stepped out of the office, disappearing from her sight.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

"I tracked down the GPS signal of his phone and found it's somewhere south of West Virginia. I was thinking we'll go there, but before, I'll show you where his car was."

Marylin let out an inward breath and concentrated on the road, steadying herself with a secure grip on her steering wheel. She felt better now that Sam was with her—she really couldn't do this alone, regardless of the fact that she was a hunter, for she never hunted alone. In that regard, she might've been a slight coward, but Marylin didn't care.

She impulsively reached for the radio and turned it on, adding, "Maybe you could…find his scent or something. Could you?" She glanced at Sam.

Though Sam looked a little uncomfortable discussing his abilities with her, he nodded with a grimace.

"I'll check it out when we get to his car, let you know if I can smell anything. But with the amount of rain we've been having… it might be kinda difficult. We'll find more when we track his cell phone. It's easier to follow a trail up there."

Marylin nodded and swallowed slightly. Then, after a moment she looked at him again. She remembered his promise when she left—did Sam feel obliged to help because of what her and Lilly did, or was it something more? Marylin hadn't forgotten when he kissed her.

"I'm sorry I didn't call before showing up. I thought…it would've been better to talk in person," she said quietly. "I know I must've ruined some of your plans."

Sam smiled warmly as he looked out the windshield. "I think I'll get through it. Just means Lafayette has to cover more than usual."

"How have things been since we left?" Marylin asked. "I saw the windows got fixed."

"Yeah, they did." Sam's eyes narrowed in thought. "The town acts like nothin' happened, which is probably best, but it's pretty much put back together. It's all back to the slow pace it's known for." The man paused and rested his elbow against the passenger side door, while his fingers played with the tips of his hair.

"Sookie's engaged."

Marylin did brief double take at the news. "She is? To Bill?" Though who else could there have been? "Since when?"

"Couple days ago," he replied. "He took her out to dinner and did it. Shortly after you guys skipped town."

"I never thought—well good for her, I guess," Marylin admitted with some difficulty. Such unions were happening all over the country. It made her then think of Lilly…and Eric, and a sudden pang of unease struck through Marylin, doubling the worry she already felt.

"Lilly's been seeing Eric," she said with clear disapproval. "He took her away and who knows what they're up to. She's been ignoring my calls."

Sam looked at her with shock in his voice. "She left with _him_? I thought you two were hunters. What was she thinkin'?"

"I don't know. We tried to talk to her but it didn't work…and then Eric had got involved, nearly killed Scott." It had been partly their fault for storming in like they did, but Marylin didn't elaborate. "Then when we came back, that other vampire, the soccer mom who's always at his side, told us they left. Since then, shit's been steadily hitting the fan. I don't know what to do."

"Just keep doin' what you're doin'. That's all you can do," he answered her. "We'll find him."

Marylin nodded silently. If something happened to Scott, she'd never forgive herself…and Lilly wouldn't either, even if she might not have been right in the head at the moment. Marylin calmed herself to start thinking straight, like the hunter she was supposed to be.

* * *

Scott winced as he opened his eyes the following morning, fully expecting his head to start pounding, and it did. Though he'd protested last night, he remembered fully well that he had not only continued to drink but danced as well with Vivian and others of the pack. She might've even slipped him a kiss or two he'd have to pretend he forgot about. He had a girlfriend, after all.

The light came in through the window of the little single cabin to bathe him in soft yellow. With a groan, he sat up from the bed he'd been given and rubbed his eyes with his hands. Moving surprisingly helped his head, and so after standing up and grabbing a t-shirt that loaned to him, the man headed out the door. He wore a pair of jeans and boots that one of the other pack members had given him, and as he stepped into the crisp morning air, pulled the shirt down over his head and sighed.

Already, people were up and starting about their daily routine without a single ounce of complaint, a fact surprised him considering how hard they'd all partied the night before. In fact, he could still taste the Absinthe on his tongue, which wasn't altogether pleasant.

Smiling and waving to those he passed, Scott headed to the large canvas bag that hung from some trees and pressed the spikette to dribble out some water over his hands. He splashed it over his face, and then into his mouth to help wake, woke up a bit more.

The moon was hidden beneath the clouds and now he only faintly felt its effects, the sun's warmth replacing the cool glow from before. It was evident that the young wolf seemed a good deal less tense than when he first arrived, and Gabe was very pleased to see this. Wanting to make note of this, the leader approached Scott on his way to the tables, where the pack's cook was cooking a rather large amount of eggs and homemade sausage. There was a spread of it already free for the taking.

"I'm glad to see that you are feeling better," Gabe praised as he sat beside the younger man. "I knew you would."

Scott looked at the pack leader and smiled slightly, nodding. "I don't know about better. My head is trying to pound its way out of my skull." When he'd drank that amount as a human, he would have been chained to a toilet for the next twenty-four hours.

Gabe chuckled and took his share of eggs, even obliging to give Scott one of the hearty sausages.

"This will help, eat up," he encouraged. "Homemade by one of ours. Nowhere else will you ever taste anything finer."

He gave a salute to the cook, who grinned a wide, sharp smile, before returning to the massive grill and cracking half a dozen eggs.

"Wait until our bigger holidays," Gabe went on to say, while carved a piece of the brat. "We have such big feasts that our friends from afar come and join us."

"Well, you'll have to call me up so I can see it," Scott said with a wide grin of his own now, as he dug into his food with gusto. Gabe had been right—the sausage was perfection. Juicy, enough spiced, a smoked undertone. There was not a single thing wrong with the meal.

"If that was just a monthly celebration I can't imagine what a yearly celebration would be like."

"You are part of the family now, Scott," Gabe told him. "You will see them all. In a couple weeks, there is a hunt that we all go on, through the mountains for several days, where we are able to run free and be even closer to nature. You will join us." Gabe left no question, as he then promptly returned to his meal, already on a second sausage.

"But I will begin teaching you until then," he added with firm promise.

Scott's fork stopped half way to his mouth, and slowly he brought it back down to his plate. "Gabe… I don't think you understand what this is."

The younger man carefully kept his voice level. He respected the man for what he had been able to attain with the pack, but that didn't mean that life in the pack would work for him.

"I can't stay with the pack. I want to learn from you, to learn…control, but people need me back home."

The smile on Gabe's face faded as he turned back to him, not at all liking what he was hearing.

"I thought you realized by now—you are not like them and they will never be like you. They are not your family anymore," he delivered austerely with a tone that was marginally hardening. "You _must_ understand that. That life is over."

"My family is different. They'll understand," Scott said as he forced a smile onto his face. He saw from Gabe's expression that it was the pack leader who wouldn't understand. "Thanks for everything, Gabe." After taking one last bite of his food, he stood up and offered his hand to the man.

"I think it's just better if I leave now."

But Gabe rose so fast that the table shuddered, his fork clattering along with his plate. The cook spun round, and so did a couple others that were at the table—all eyes darkened on the newcomer.

"I'm afraid you will not be leaving anywhere," Gabe said to Scott. "It is too late. We've all forgotten our pasts, and so will you."

"What?" Scott snapped. He immediately backed away from the pack leader as his eyes flickered around to all of nearby wolves. "I think you're mistaken. I _will_ be leaving right now, and I don't want any trouble…" A soft growl entered his voice. He brought his eyes back to Gabe. They would not keep him here against his will.

But even as he spoke, the nearby pack members began circling him, immediately making the hunter tense further, his shoulders hunching.

"We do not want trouble in our pack either," spat Gabe, and then motioned suddenly to three closest, who lunged and grabbed Scott by the arms. "Tie him back where he was yesterday," ordered their leader. "We'll keep him there until he calms down."

"Le's go, _pup_," scorned one of the bulky men. "Looks like you're gonna need more rearin' in."

Scott pulled and bucked against their holds, kicked his feet out off the ground to try and break free. He snarled, his fangs immediately lengthening inside his mouth. And his pupils grew so large, there was no ring of color in his eyes, only black.

"Sorry, pup," said another man who appeared in front of him.

He brought something down hard against his head. Scott's world went out like a light. He was carried cross the field and back to the shed, where he was to be chained for extra security measures.

Arms crossed, Vivian approached and stopped beside Gabe, who looked at her angrily.

"You told me last night went well!"

"It did! I guess it didn't work…" she said regretfully.

"He is more of a challenge than I thought. You will try again later," Gabe commanded.

"Maybe he just needs some time," Vivian suggested with a frown. "He's new, Gabe."

"He will remain there until nightfall and then you will go and speak to him," her leader reiterated. She had no choice but to obey before he started to yell. "Do anything that you must to get him comply. Understood?" He briefly stroked her cheek. "We all know how you have a way with words, my dear…"

Vivian nodded, muttered, "Yes, Gabe," and then started back to her own hut. Gabe's expression tightened as he watched her go—he was the leader and everybody obeyed him.

Even Scott would eventually bow down.

* * *

"There's nothing left around the car," Sam said as he stepped out from behind the gas station, having just changed back into his clothes. "I can't even tell where he went, but—Marylin, what's goin' on here?" He stopped beside Scott's car and looked at her. "I got some pretty strange smells from the inside of it."

"I—I don't know," she said, while averting his eyes and bringing a knuckle to her mouth. "He left on the hunt without me, didn't call…left his car here. I don't know what happened… What did—what did you smell?" she asked hesitantly.

His annoyance suddenly bordered on anger. "Either you stop lyin' to me here and now, Marylin, or I'm callin' a taxi to head home," he said very seriously.

"I'm not lying, Sam!" Marylin tried to convince. She fumbled miserably for an explanation. "He—Scott's really gone. He was—we were trying to hunt down a werewolf. That's what he went to hunt."

She frowned and took a step towards him, hung her head. "And now I'm sure that something happened. He wouldn't do this," she said and hoped that Sam would believe her.

The man regarded her a long moment as he tried to decide.

"There is a werewolf's scent in the car, but it smells like Scott as well." His eyes were locked onto hers, even when she looked away. "But that's all I can get from it, so let's go. The rain has washed away all the other smells."

He was still annoyed, and her fib clearly hadn't passed, but he returned to her car anyway. "We'll head up to where his cell phone last was."

Marylin hurried to her door, before anything else leaked out. She couldn't tell him the truth, even though it would probably come out into the open later. If Sam knew that Scott was one of them, he'd never help, nor would anyone else.

Sam was already sitting rigidly inside in the passenger seat, waiting for her to get there. He didn't like liars, and frankly he didn't like the situation he had gotten himself into. Sam was more than willing to help Marylin with her problem, but she _was_ keeping something from him, and it bothered him.


	16. Heartbreaker

(Begin with badass guitar solo and then:)

People talkin' all around 'bout the way you left me flat,  
I don't care what the people say, I know where their jive is at.  
One thing I do have on my mind, if you can clarify please do,  
It's the way you call me by another guy's name when I try to make love to you.  
I try to make love but it ain't no use.

Work so hard I couldn't unwind, get some money saved;  
Abuse my love a thousand times, however hard I tried.  
Heartbreaker, your time has come, can't take your evil way;  
Go away, Heartbreaker

~ Led Zeppelin

(Sorry, but Led Zep is the answer to a lot of things)

…..

The latch slowly lifted and the door creaked open. It was nightfall now, and both Gabe and Vivian hoped that Scott finally calmed down. It was dark inside the shed, but the girl saw the man there on the floor, still tied—he was quiet, slumped over a little, and she thought he might've been sleeping… Until he shifted, hearing both her and those outside by the fire that was going again. Vivian paused before him and squatted. She tried to peer at his face, reached forward with her hand. Then she heard him let out a small snarl and retracted.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," she said, bemused. "I came to see how you were."

"How would you be if you had been left tied up all day?" he asked her quietly, and slowly brought his eyes up to look at her. There was still rebellion in his gaze, but it was distant, as though locking him up really did help to break him.

"I _was_ actually—once," she said with a light smirk. "When I misbehaved, but I've never been back here again…and you won't either if you think you can relax and join us again. Hm?" Vivian cocked her head. "What do you say?"

"He won't let me leave, Vivian. I have—a family," sadness leaked onto his face as his shoulders slumped further and his head hung. "I miss them…"

"But we're your new family now," the girl said softly. When that seemed to make it worse, she sighed heavily. "I had family too, you know," she decided to confess, if only it would help. "When I was four, they were killed…by hunters. I was the only one that survived. I managed to outrun them, but they could've very well killed me," she swallowed slightly. "Then Gabe found me…and _he_ became my family. No one else understood better than he did, not like any of those humans would. They won't understand, Scott. They'll never truly understand you like we would."

"Vivian…" Scott said, sat up so that he could see her more clearly. "Gabe accepted everything? Every flaw? _Even_…your past?"

Hope sparked in his eyes.

"Yes," she answered, smiled, believing she was succeeding. "We will never abandon you, never be disloyal… We'll always be there with you." The girl stood and went around him to his binds, which she began to undo. "We'll grow with you, Scott, and you with us."

His hands came free and she threw the rope away, then helping him up and whispering gently in his ear. "We like you very much already."

"Why, though? I'm so new, and I can barely control my wolf," he continued. He gazed down at her and did not release her hand, as though he needed her support.

"But we see your potential. You could become one of our strongest. You just need some guidance, that's all… And if you want, I'll be there while you learn," she offered coyly. She led him to the door and opened it to the night air.

"So be a part of us, Scott," she implored, as the other wolves all looked at them, including Gabe, who clenched his fists and nodded resolutely. "Please?" said Vivian, and then she slowly rose on her toes to place a kiss upon Scott's mouth. Her gaze twinkled.

Scott looked away from her and out towards the rest of the pack. They all mirrored her desire, and so after a moment…he nodded.

Grins broke out amongst the group, but Scott watched Gabe rather than the others. It was the pack leader that would make the final call. Not the others. Gabe slowly raised his hands and beckoned him forward.

"Come, Scott," he called. "Join us."

Scott smiled and stepped forward into the waiting arms of the pack, holding up amongst the back-slapping and hand-shaking.

"Glad you finally came around, Pup, but don't worry. It takes a little longer for some," said the lumberjack. "But now you'll be better off for it and you'll see."

As his pack did their congratulating, Gabe went around to the fire and pulled something long and metal from it. The end was hot, burning orange, and Scott's eyes immediately darted to it. Then he was ushered forward, as Gabe turned and approached him, with hot rod in his hand and poised at his arm.

The burly man forced Scott's sleeve down, laying bare his forearm.

"You must carry our mark, as we all do," enlightened Gabe, and several others revealed their own brands to Scott. Vivian stepped beside him and gave an encouraging smile, showed the faint scar on her arm.

His eyes darted around the group and his mouth tensed. Seeing as how they stood all the way around him, he nodded.

"If that's what I have to do," he offered with a small smile.

One of the other men stepped up to grab his arm so that it could be held still.

"Last thing you want is some smudged brand," he said with a grin, and Scott tried to return it.

Pleased with his compliance, and giving Vivian a quick, smirking glance, Gabe lifted the brand over Scott's arm. It hovered above his skin just a moment, radiated enough to feel hot. The young man took in a breath to brace himself.

But before the iron was able to come in contact with his arm, a sudden gunshot rang out from not too far off.

A bullet struck Gabe's own arm. The man roared in pain. The brander fell to the ground, and everyone spun round to face the direction of the assailant.

He came from the trees between two of the cabins. No sooner had they tore off to get him than more shots rang, striking the incoming wolves with more silver bullets. The attacker revealed himself, sprung out into the open, and narrowly dodged several of the beasts. He was strangely equipped with just as quick of speed and strength as they. A middle-aged, bearded man who wasn't as menacing-looking at most of the pack.

As the pack scattered, Scott took the chance to dart out of their scattered circle.

But even though he wanted to run, he couldn't leave his would-be rescuer to fend for himself. Scott growled and dove back into the fight. He brandished a thick tree branch that he picked up on the way. He caught one of the wolves in the head with a strong stroke, and it went down with a high-pitched yelp.

"Damn idiot!" Scott yelled at the man. "Hope you realize that you're probably—" he swung the branch again with a baseball swing and down went another beast, "going to die here for this!"

More wolves charged at them. He and the stranger were slowly being driven back into the trees. Once they reached the edge of the encampment, they knew they would have to make a run for it.

Scott's rescuer didn't answer and simply tossed Scott a semi-automatic pistol and the boy managed to catch it. He fired at that lumberjack. Then Vivian ran at him, complete and utter betrayal in her gaze. Although Scott hesitated a moment, one shot to her thigh had her down. Gabe locked eyes with the hunter and made for him then, looking so deadly that Scott expected him to turn right there and then.

His rescuer tried shooting at the leader but missed. Then he yelled, "RUN!"

Scott growled in frustration and turned. The pair took off through the woods, leapt over fallen logs and small creek beds. Their ease belayed mere human abilities.

Their pursuers, hot on their heels, dodged the random shots that the men both made randomly in their direction. Some had shifted, others ran at them in human form—they were quickly closing in.

The wolves were a mere fifty feet behind them when Scott saw the line of trees stop, and just beyond that, the ground as well. Because his rescuer had turned back to shoot more than Scott wanted to, Scott reached the edge of the cliff first and his eyes widened when he realized that below—far below—was a river.

"Fuck!" he swore. They had nowhere to go! "We're trapped!" he yelled to the man, just as he broke the cover of the trees, catching up with Scott.

His rescuer never slowed his pace, continued running.

"It's a dead en—!"

The man dove into him. Scott's air rushed out of his lungs, and they were both sent sailing into the air off the cliff. The wolves came to abrupt stops before they fell in too, and watched the two figures plummet through the dark, towards the rushing current.

The escapees heard the pack's roars as they plunged deep into the water, and both burst to the surface minutes later with loud gasps for breath. The current was strong and fast, carried them westward, but none of the wolves made after them, despite Gabe's fit of fury. Letting the river take them, Scott and the stranger disappeared from sight, round the trees and other precipices that flanked the ravine, effectively losing their pursuers.

The whitewater tossed and churned them, roughly sent them over rocks and drops, overwhelming them with waves that held them long below.

Both men managed to hold on—even the stranger, who Scott now knew was just the same as he was. But why he fought against the pack, Scott didn't know, and planned to interrogate him when reached shore. _If_ they reached shore.

Much to his relief though, the stranger caught hold of a tree that was bent and fallen, and caught Scott's hand. The half-dead branches surprisingly withheld them both and the stranger began to heave them against the current, until Scott caught hold of the tree himself. There they floated for just a moment, to catch their breathing. The stranger glanced at the young man with something that softened his face. The resemblance was uncanny.

Something flickered in Scott's head as he looked at him. The memory always just barely eluded his grasp when he sought to hold on to it.

"You're an idiot, do you realize that?" he roared at the older man, once his lungs seemed to be working again. Shaking his head, Scott reached for more branches and started pulling himself along the trunk until he finally reached the shore and then heaved himself up onto it. Soon enough, both of them were lying on the bank, breathing heavily.

"You could have killed us back there," Scott gasped out, stared past the brilliant stars above them. "And ambushing the pack like that?"

The stranger didn't answer. He smiled.

Sitting up, Scott wiped his hands over his face. "Who are you anyway?"

He looked at his rescuer and narrowed his blue eyes as his lips set themselves in a familiar line.

Finally the stranger spoke.

"First I'll ask ya to not call me an idiot again, son," he advised wearily, as he stood and took off his coat, which was heavily soaked and sagged from all that was in the pockets. "Then we should hurry or one of them could come after us an' fix on our scent. Let's go."

The older man set off up the shore and into the woods that lined it, giving Scott no choice but to follow. For a short while they walked in silence, and then the stranger glanced back at him again with a half-warning expression.

"You didn' lose my gun, did you?"

In answer, Scott pulled the handgun out of his pocket and offered it to him. "No, I didn't."

There was something about him…

The young man kept looking at him, watched his every move, tried in vain to reach whatever it was that seemed familiar about him. The man was Scottish, that much was obvious from his voice, but what was a Scottish werewolf doing roaming the mountains of West Virginia?

"You never answered my question," Scott told him again after some time had passed. "Who are you?"

Stubbornly, he stopped walking. He was not about to get himself rounded up into another pack again.

The stranger halted a meter away and slowly turned. He let out a breath he'd been holding. His expression faltered, hesitated for a while, until the man knew he had no choice. As if pulling his strength from the ground, he lifted his gaze to Scott and finally said:

"My name is Victor Lennox…an' I'm—" his eyes softened again, accompanied by ancient guilt and remorse. "I'm your father, Scott."

Scott immediately took a step back as he stared at the man in shock.

"_Victor_?"

He couldn't believe it. _That_ was why the man had seemed strangely familiar. But before he could help it, rage began to simmer inside of Scott.

"No." There was _so_ much behind that one word.

The younger man didn't acknowledge it and started walking again, his shoulders tense, and his breathing rapid. He passed Victor and didn't as much as glance in his direction.

Victor went after him but kept a distance, for his son had every the reason to be angry.

"Yes, Scott, I am. I know—It's been years," his father admitted guiltily. "And you probably don' remember me." When silence replied, he sighed again. "I would never have thought you'd be among them. I couldn' leave you with them."

"Thanks, Victor, I guess that would be a first for you," Scott retorted bitterly.

He didn't stop walking. He just couldn't believe it—it had been at least 25 years since the last time Scott had seen this man, and now he had the audacity to say that he was his father?

It was hard—Victor managed to ignore his resentment for the moment and quickened his pace to trudge alongside him, concern marring his rough, bearded facial features.

"When were you turned, Scott?" he gravely asked his son. "How long ago?"

Scott whirled on his father and snarled. "Why do you care?" His heart beat loudly in his ears. "I'm handling it, so why do you care? You don't have to. It's fine, okay?" His breathing rapid, then he turned and continued striding again.

"Scott—!" But the boy didn't stop.

"Scott, I can tell that you're new. Has it only been a couple months, a little over? I saw you, before they found an' brought you here," Victor tried to explain urgently. "An' I followed after your scent. Never had I thought that you'd follow the same fate as mine…"

"You _saw_ me?" Scott reiterated, as he once again turned to look back at Victor. "You saw me and you still let them _take_ me?" He was incredulous. "It's my fourth month, so if we're keeping with your past trend, this is where you split. Four years, fourth month, seeing a pattern here?"

"Scott, I know you're angry." Angry probably didn't do the boy justice, and that probably wasn't the best way to start either. "Scott, there hasn' been a day that I've not felt guilty…an' if there was a way to change what happened to me, I would without a further thought. And after what happened to your mother…and Jake—" Jake was Lilly's father.

"What happened to _you_?" snapped Scott. His eyes dilated and he took a threatening step towards Victor. "What happened to _you_?" Scott spat at him. "If you wouldn't have left her, then none of this would have happened! How about what you did to her?"

Almost frantically, he dug at the neck of his shirt and pulled a thin chain off over his head, held it in a fist.

"She wore _this_ around her neck till the day she died, but did _you_ do anything about it?"

On the chain dangled an heirloom engagement ring with an emerald stone.

"Scott…" Victor frowned deeply and flooded with the memories he held so dear all these years, since the very last time he saw both him and his mother. The man's voice fell, his throat hoarse, while he stared at the glinting green jewel, more guilt-ridden than ever.

"I tried but I couldn' get to her in time, not before the demons—" he swallowed, eyes fixed downward. "Then when I tried to see you, they didn' allow me—Bobby an' Lee Ann. Not you or the others will remember, but there had been such tragedies back then, Scott. You can' even imagine…"

"Right, the tragedies. How could I forget?" Scott finished quietly. His breathing finally evened out. Carefully, he replaced his mother's necklace around his neck and dropped the ring beneath his shirt.

"Whatever."

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he turned around and started heading back in the direction they had originally been going. Victor watched his son, but finding that he seemed to have cooled, Victor silently went on to lead the way. They had much more to talk about, but this was not the place. They were wet and cold and probably hungry.

"My car is not far from here," Victor told Scott carefully, after some moments passed. He observed his son, noting that even though he was new, he had a deceit amount of control. Despite the bitterness that translated into arrogance, the poor boy.

"We'll go back to my place, which is a couple of hours away. Before you protest, you'll have to spend the night somewhere anyway," the older man added a little tightly. "Then you can call someone if you need to. Are you in contact with the other kids? Lilly?"

Victor's question only wounded his son further.

"Lilly…ran off. Marylin is waiting for me to get back from the moon, and the twins…I was going to meet up with them in a few days."

Now though, Scott wasn't sure if he'd ever get to see them again. If his father tried pulling the same crap that the pack had, Scott would split. But there was still much to learn more about control, especially after seeing how the pack handled their wolves.

"You may want to rethink that, son," Victor told him upon a small wince, but then added, "At least for a little while."

"I'm not going to run away from Marylin. I learned something from you." Scott didn't feel like arguing with him. His last outburst had drained him. The younger man didn't look at his father and kept trudging.

His father couldn't help but look a bit surprised. "You're with her?"

"Yep."

As they walked, the outline of an old Chevy truck appeared ahead between the trees, and sure enough, the closer they got to it, Scott saw that it was sitting in a little parking lot.

"Nice truck," he commented. It was hard to tell if he was being serious or mocking.

"Wish I still had my old car, but I think I know who has it now," Victor replied. Scott couldn't figure out if he was playful or resentful. His father unlocked the car, and after some hesitance Scott climbed in. The blast of heat that shot from the vents was rather welcoming.

"Unless it was sold."

Scott glanced over at him. Then he looked back out the window, remembered the letter he read when he had turned sixteen. Lee Ann, who had been his grandmother, was the one to give it to him. The letter had been written by his mother (Lillian's also), explaining how the car belonged to his real father, as he'd known, and that it was now his, as of his sixteenth birthday. The letter date said that it had been written when he was four years old. The car was a beautiful vintage Mustang.

"It's not sold."

In fact, it was in pristine condition. Reaching into his pocket, for the pack had gathered his scattered belongings when they found him, he pulled out a set of car keys with an ancient looking pocket knife still attached to them. Scott dropped them in an empty cup holder, all without looking over at the man behind the truck's wheel.

Pulling out onto the road, Victor glanced at the keys but didn't take them as he faintly smiled. All he said was, "Good."

The young wolf remained quiet and watched the moving scenery outside of the truck. Never before had he ever thought he'd be riding in a car with his father, but regardless he wasn't about to tell the man that. Not right now. Left to his stewing, the men let the sounds of the road drift between them, as they left perhaps more than just the pack behind them.

* * *

He knew she wasn't telling the whole truth, and she _knew_ he knew, but she tried her best to stall as long as she could. She continued to search the edge of the woods by the old bar and gas pump, while Sam searched a little ways away. Yet if _he_ wasn't finding anything, Marylin wasn't going to either. Scott's phone was the only clue they had, and it was dead and soaked thoroughly in rain and mud—probably beyond repair. Beyond it seemed to lay nothing, no other traces or tracks. Marylin's anxiety was now overflowing on the brink of panic. She had to call Bobby or the twins, though she wouldn't know where to begin. She knew very well what their reactions would be, if they found out about Scott, especially Bobby's.

Quickly pocketing Scott's phone, Marylin started back to her car and only glanced at Sam. She felt immeasurably guilty for dragging him all the way out here, and he was probably regretting his decision to help by now. In fact, she was sure he was, judging by the look on his face.

Marylin huffed and paused in front of her door. "Sam, I'm sorry that I took you all the way out here."

"It's okay, we just gotta cover more ground tomorrow. Maybe you should head back to the motel. 'S gettin' dark and I can just cover more ground alone."

The thing that bothered him most was that she was lying to him straight to his face, even after he tried to call her out on it. Something was up, and yet she _still_ tried to keep it from him.

"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. "You don't need my help?"

"You gonna tell me the truth?" he asked as he turned around to look at her. He didn't snap, but he was imploring.

"Sam, I—I already did, " she proceeded to lie. The fib in her voice was dwindling more and more. "He went after werewolves."

He lifted his arms and then dropped him back to his sides. He went to her car to get his bag out of the back.

"I'm done, " he said. "I hope you find him."

Panic suffused her and she hurried to stop him. "Sam! Sam, I'm not lying, " she all but cried out. "Please believe me. I'm not lying, " she beseeched. "Something—something happened to him."

The man turned around and grabbed her by her shoulders so that she couldn't turn away. "What happened to him, Marylin? Tell me what happened."

"He went after them, " she choked. "He—he went after them and—" she felt her eyes prick, glistening. "Th-they attacked him." Marylin saw the shock that blossomed across Sam's face, and that only provoked her tears. "He's one of them. Scott's one of them."

"He's a werewolf? And you're trying to get him back?" Sam was incredulous. "Marylin, I know he's your friend, but he's gone. Those guys are crazy—I've met a few. They're unstable!"

"No, Scott's different!" the woman claimed. "He's not like the others. He has control. He's trying to control himself. I can't just leave him—the moon's supposed to be over now anyway."

"And how do you know he's comin' back, huh? He could be anywhere! They don't have their minds when they change. You don't know how dangerous they are." Sam could respect the fact that she cared about Scott, but she was putting herself in incredible danger and didn't even realize it.

Marylin suddenly jerked out of his grasp. "Sam, I know exactly how dangerous they are! I've hunted them before—I've _seen_ them. But Scott's not like them. If—if he was, I would've done something about it days ago."

"You mean you can tell me, without lyin', that you would have done somethin' days ago if he'd been dangerous?" Sam still didn't believe her. "He's your friend. It's understandable that you'd feel this way, but you gotta understand—"

"I can't abandon him—not again! I did it once, and then he screwed up, and if I don't find him, something else will happen." Angry now, Marylin marched back to her door, opening it, and wiped her eyes.

Her best guess was that Scott could've gone north, for the woods got thicker in that direction and that's where his phone was leading. It was a long shot, but she'd gone off of hunches slimmer in the past.

Sam watched her climb inside her car and swore silently. "So you're goin' after him?" he asked. He quickly got into the passenger seat.

"You don't understand, " Marylin told him. Her eyes filled again.

Sam sighed and ran his hand back through his hair. "Well, I can't let you do it alone, " he commented. "No more lies. I mean it, Marylin. No more hidin' the truth."

She started the car but didn't pull out, wanting to get a grip on herself first. The sun was set, darkness spread completely across the mountainous landscape, making searching appear just as hard as she knew it would be. Who knew—there could've been other things out there, not only Scott. Actually, she was sure of it.

"I've known him all my life—I grew up with him, " Marylin said as she stared through the windshield, swallowing hard. "We…we were together."

Sam was quiet, just let her speak. It was hard for her to say what had happened between Scott and her, but now that she had started, Sam certainly wasn't going to stop her. Finally he got something out of her! And if he was going to help her, he needed and was owed all of the information involved in this situation.

But before Marylin could open her mouth to continue, her phone suddenly went off.

With sudden hope, she scrambled inside her pocket and hurried to answer the call—it vibrated in her hand, the ringing the sheer miracle she'd been waiting for days. Though upon seeing the caller, it wasn't who she expected it to be…and instead of relief, incredulous shock flared within her.

"_Lilly_?"

"Marylin?" Lilly's voice sounded from the phone. In Chicago, the woman stood beside the high rise, hotel room sliding glass door, having lifted the sun block curtains since the sun had set. "What happened? I just got your message." Almost nervously, she lifted a hand to her mouth and chewed on one thumbnail.

"You _just_—?" Marylin filled with angry exasperation. "What happened to you? Where the hell did that bastard take you? What did he do to you?" she demanded, and her fist clenched on the wheel. Oh she was going to stake that bastard for sure!

Lilly flailed her hand even though her friend was hundreds of miles away.

"Mar, calm down, I'm fine, " she insisted. "We went to Quebec, and I didn't realize my phone wouldn't work there. We just got into Chicago a little while ago. What's going on?"

But Marylin wasn't finished with her questions, and now Sam was worried.

"Now you're in Chicago? You hadn't you even told us that you were leaving somewhere in the first place! We came to see you, to talk again, but that bastard decided to just whisk you way out of the damn country?" she practically yelled. "And how could you not even _think_ to call and tell us, Lilly? I—I tried calling the twins, but they're hunting. And Scott—"

Lilly heard the anxiety as well as the anger in her voice and cut her off:

"What's wrong with Scott?" They could yell about Eric later. "Did something happen?" Considering her vampire was there with her, she could rule out possible homicide.

Now Marylin deflated and looked at Sam. "Lilly. Lilly…Scott's gone. He was supposed to come back by now, but he wasn't answering his phone. And then when I tracked it down, it led me just south of West Virginia."

The other end of the line was silent. Lilly couldn't decide if she heard Marylin correctly or not, but judging by how panicked she was, Lilly had indeed heard correctly.

"How long has he been gone now?" Her voice was soft and calm in her own worry. Already she was staring at her bag, which had been left on top of the sleek lacquered black dresser.

"He was supposed to come back a couple days ago. I—I didn't think he'd go this far north. Something must've happened…"

Lilly quickly went to her bag and pulled open the top drawer to start grabbing her belongings. "So right now you're in West Virginia? I'll be there by morning. I'm going to leave right now. Just stay there and I'll meet you."

"I'm with Sam, Sam Merlotte. We're in Gary. Don't take Eric with you, " Marylin warned pointedly—that argument was far from over, even though they'd discuss it later.

"I don't order Eric around, Marylin. He goes where he wants to, when he wants to, though I'm pretty sure there's no love lost between the two of them, so I don't think you have to worry about him coming with." Lilly couldn't keep all of the edge out of her voice, but she managed to keep enough out to assuage her conscience. "I'll see you in a few hours."

Shaking her head, Lilly closed her phone and tossed it out onto the bed.

Sam looked pensive as he relaxed in the passenger seat, thinking. "So she's coming?" he asked.

Marylin nodded and checked her phone for any other calls, but none were missed.

"She said she'll try to be here by morning. She's still with Eric, " she said unhappily. "I know the son of a bitch must've glamoured her—otherwise she would've called before."

Sam didn't disagree with her. "I told her to watch them. Let's head to the motel. She's not going to be here till early morning if she's in Chicago right now."

"If he lets her go, " said Marylin.

Back in Chicago in their high rise hotel room, when Eric stepped out of the bathroom, he was disbelieved indeed, and watched a moment as Lilly packed her things—she was almost done, having hurried, and looked up to see his steely, blank expression.

"What are you doing?"

Bare-chested but luckily clad in pants, he only managed to pause her a second. His hair moist and sleeked back, he was just the faintest bit flushed from the shower, and his muscles already tensed in minor alarm.

"Eric, I have to go, I'm sorry." And she meant it. "My phone is working again and Marylin called. Apparently my brother is missing." She only glanced up at Eric for a moment before stepping past him to the bathroom so that she could get her toiletries now that he was out.

"The full moon was recently. He's most likely wild somewhere, chasing after something, or someone, " Eric couldn't suppress his disdain. "His kind always returns eventually."

"I'll remind you, " Lilly called from the bathroom before appearing, "that _his_ kind, are _my_ kind. He's my brother." She stepped around Eric and quickly placed the small red canvas bag in her larger duffle, stuffing it down between a pair of tennis shoes and the fabric wall.

"And he is dangerous, which means I am not going to let you go after him, " the vampire said firmly. He stepped behind her, his tone earning a shocked look. "You'd be a foolish to try to find him. You won't be able to."

Lilly steeled her expression, not wanting to do battle with the stubborn man but fully prepared to if that was how he wanted to handle it.

"I'm going to believe that it's out of concern that you're attempting to order me to stay, and not some age-old loathing between two species, or out of some belief that I can't handle myself."

Annoyed, she turned away from him and zipped up her bag.

"I'm not undermining your abilities, " Eric amended tightly. "And though you're right about our mutual loathing, those _curs_ really are dangerous. They have no control." He put his hand on Lillian's bag, quite adamant about preventing her from taking it, from leaving.

"You saw very well what your brother was capable of, or have you forgotten that night he intruded upon my establishment?"

He was right and she knew it, but she couldn't stay there. Not when she knew her brother might be in trouble.

"There have been times in my life, that had it not been for Scott, I wouldn't be here, " Lilly told the sheriff, held his gaze. Most would fear a glamour, and while Eric could try it, their strange relationship was based on trust and if he _glamoured_ her… that trust would be over.

"I can't sit here knowing he might be out there in trouble. I'm sorry, Eric, but when it comes to this, you're not going to be able to convince me otherwise."

Eric clenched his fists and in fact tried to fight the urge of glamouring her. He suffused with aggravation, his eyes narrowing, very, very tempted. And she saw this and braced herself—perhaps she was wrong about believing him. But somehow…the man then managed to overcome his brief, inner fit and dawned upon a decision he went with instead. He was wholly reluctant, but their vacation was now completely ruined, anyway.

"Fine. I will go with you." It was grumbled. "I'm not going to stay here, anyway. And if you find him and he attempts anything, someone will have to make sure he won't do it again."

She wasn't sure she heard him correctly and her shock was seen on her face. "Eric, you don't have to go… It's been so long since you've had a vacation." At least they'd had a little while in Chicago, short though it may have been.

"Why would there be reason for me to enjoy the rest of it alone?" he asked, and slowly let go of her bag. "It's fine, Lilly."

She turned and picked up her bag.

"Thank you for doing this, " she told him softly. She leaned forward to gently kiss him beneath his collarbone. "I know you don't like him, but he means more than I can say to me."

"Mm." Eric didn't like the sound of that, but he couldn't do much. If it was up to him…Scott would be long gone, that very night he set foot on his territory, but it was too late to do anything, and if Eric did, Lilly would never forgive him.

The man turned and went to dress in stiff silence. Since there was no way they'd fly, he'd get a car for them, and then he'd have to deal with day later. Lilly watched him and couldn't help smiling slightly. It wasn't at him per se, but she did find him ever-so-slightly amusing in that instant. She would definitely owe him after this one. Of course, if he killed her brother, all bets were off.

* * *

The truck crossed the muddy forest road and parked beside what appeared to be a rather small, modest mountain cabin. Located a good deal away from the main road, it was secluded among the woods so effectively that was absolutely no signal on Scott's phone, and he wondered how his father had reception, unless he had a satellite phone. There was a flimsy antenna attached to the roof of the hut, though Victor didn't seem like the television-watching type.

Scott remained silent as the grave as he followed the man out of the car and to the door, which was bolted with three heavy-duty locks. The boy raised a brow, watching his father hastily unlock all, and then hesitantly stepped after him inside. The shabby 'main-room', consisting of an old couch, table, and tiny kitchen, finally lit after sputtering a few times in protest.

"S'not much…" began Victor. "But make yourself at home. I'll start the fire, then you can hang your clothes by it." The man grabbed some logs from a pile and lit them straightaway, for it was also a bit chilly—and they were still wet from rafting down the river.

"I got some extra clothes you could borro'." Victor stood and looked at his son, bearded features set in a faint purse as he regarded him. "You look like you grew up to be my size, but a bit shorter though."

There was a glimmer of warmth in his gaze.

Scott just stared at the man for a moment, and then turned away from him so that he could pull off his damp shirt. The fledgling glow of the fire reflected off of his back and shoulder, only making the craggy scar look even more hideous. The boy's attack hadn't been a quick nip, but one in which he'd had to fight for his life.

Silently, he toed out of his boots and nudged them towards the fire with a damp sock covered foot.

Victor frowned as he watched him, then disappeared down the small hallway where his room was. He returned a couple minutes later to find Scott still mum. And Victor just as wordlessly gave him the pants and shirt he found for him. Then, after an awkward second or two, the older man thumbed down the hall.

"You could go change there if you want. I'm gonna go heat some stew. You like stew?" Out of minor annoyance, the muscle in Victor's cheek jumped as he waited for some sort of answer. "S' rabbit. You're not averse to rabbit, are you?"

His son looked over towards the kitchen and then headed down the hallway.

"No, its okay," he said quietly without looking back.

Victor's clothes actually fit him quite well as it turned out. The clothes Scott was wearing before had been borrowed by a man slightly smaller than himself and so had been a tighter. Having a similar build to his father meant that _these_ clothes were comfortable. As soon as he stepped back into the living area and smelled the food in the air, a loud gurgling sound erupted from his stomach, betrayed him. He smirked at the sound and shook his head. Then he saw Victor and wiped his face clean of emotion once more.

"Sit," his father beckoned with a ladle, and brought over two metal bowls filled with his stew. Then he handed his son a spork, which Scott took with a little bafflement, noting how worn out the utensil was, even marred with some indents. Victor slightly laughed at him at his expense, to tease out that stolidity, and promptly began chowing down his meal.

"Son, you look like I'd poison you or somethin'," he told Scott.

After another moment of hesitation, he took a bite. As soon as the spoon had hit his mouth, Scott realized just how hungry he was and began digging in with gusto. In a matter of minutes, his bowl was empty. Slowly, he raised his eyes to his dad and wiped his mouth with the side of his hand.

"Can I…have some more?"

The warmth in Victor's eyes grew—he smiled and nodded. He returned to the stove and brought back the whole pot, ladling more into his son's bowl until the stew reached the brim. Victor got more for himself as well, and both of them consumed their seconds in mere minutes again. As Victor rationed out thirds, he glanced at his son and grinned now.

"It's safe to say you like my cookin', eh, son? Are you feelin' any better?" he asked, hoped the food had calmed Scott even partially. Men were prone to fights when they were ravenous, especially their kind.

"A little," Scott admitted, as this time when he started on his bowl, he did it at a much more normal pace. "The moon is passed now." Though Scott was now actually talking with his father, his voice was still quiet.

"It is." Victor hesitated for a few beats, then he asked, "Do you start to feel it even before it sets? Couple days before?" There was concern on his face, while he paused briefly with his food.

Scott nodded as he spooned another bite of stew into his mouth. "Yeah, feels like…whatever I want I should get."

His father inclined his head in agreement, then with a bit of caution next asked, "Were you around anyone?"

Scott looked down into his bowl of stew. "Marylin…" he replied and grimaced. "This last moon was the first time I'd been around people anywhere near the full moon."

Victor's eyes narrowed in stun. "She knows what you are?"

"She and Lilly know. The damn fang told them." Scott's words had suddenly come out in a soft growl as he thought of the man his sister was spending time with.

"What fang?"

"The Sheriff of Shreveport, Lousiana." Scott's eyes darkened. "He's glamoured her or something. Lilly won't leave him."

"_What_?" Alarm rose strong in his father's voice. "What were you doin' there in the firs' place? You just _left_ her?"

"I _was_ getting her back," Scott snapped right back. "I almost had her to the door and the bastard pulled her out of my grasp. All of his buddies were circling." The idea that they had to try talking to her, try to understand what she saw in her vampire, had long left his mind.

"Why do you think I have to get back? He took her and left. Apparently for some vacation."

"Isn' the Sheriff there some Viking?" Victor said. "Really old an' among one of the strongest vampires down in that southern shithole?"

"Mmhm," Scott said with a nod. "And an ego big enough to prove it. I'm going to get her back, Victor. Marylin wants to try and reason with her. She wants to try and see what Lilly sees in him, but there's no point. He's using her."

"Where did they go? And where's Marylin now, Scott?"

"I left her in a small town outside of Shreveport with my car." Without warning, he stood up and looked towards the couch. "I need to call her. It's been too long."

"Son, " Victor rose after him, apprehensive. "You won' be able to take him out. He's too strong, but there's my phone, on the shelf. We're goin' to have to think it through together. You can' go in there half-cocked." He followed his son and advised again, gravely:

"We need to think it through, Scott."

Scott hurriedly looked to the shelf and, seeing the phone, went to it.

"I can't leave my sister with that beast. I promised to protect her. I'm not going to let some pompous prick of a fang bleed her dry."

"If he's keepin' her as one o' their pets, he isn't going to bleed her dry. He'll keep usin' here, which means we still got a bit of time." His father was concerned of course, but managed to keep his anxiety in better check than Scott, who still needed to calm himself before they went into rescue Lilly.

"_You_ need some time, son, " said Victor as he watched him dial. With all his years of practicing control, the older man learned the value of a clear mind, especially for hunters.

"I need my family, Victor." Scott glanced back at him before putting the phone to his ear and listening to the ring. "I already took three months away from them. Actually, more than that."

"Scott." His father sighed heavily and turned away, to let him talk. There was no way he was going to let his son leave, though, not until he put himself together. And even then, with his changed state, his return to the others would be put under question.

The phone rang long and slow for several long beats…until an obviously harried Marylin finally picked up and spoke. "H-hello?"

"Marylin?"

It took a second for her to realize who it was, her entire breath escaping her throat. "Scott?" she said. "Oh, God, Scott, it's _you_?"

"Yeah, it's me, " he replied, turned his back on his father so that he could concentrate on her. "Where—How are you? Have you spoken to Lilly?"

"Yes, finally! She called me. Sh-she's supposed to be here in the morning, but where are you? Where did you go? Scott, we thought something happened to you!"

"Something did. I'll tell you about it later though," he quickly said, to keep her from asking questions. "Did she leave the fang?"

"She told me she was coming here, so I hope she will. She should be on the road. Scott, I left Louisiana and tracked your phone to West Virginia and found it here." Though she didn't know where he was, just hearing his voice sent relief to wash over her.

"You're there?" Scott turned and glanced at his father before looking over at the fireplace to see if his clothes were dry. "It's not safe there. You should have stayed in Louisiana, Mar. Stay where you are. We're coming to meet you."

Marylin stopped mid-pace in her hotel room. "Who's we?"

Scott went to the fireplace and stuck his hand in the inside of his boot to find it still wet. "Someone… You wouldn't remember," he said.

"Scott," began Victor warningly.

"A man?" Marylin asked Scott with some suspicion in her voice.

"Victor Lennox," Scott answered finally, heedless of his father. Scott grabbed his boots anyway.

"What?" Did Marylin hear him right? "Your _father_?"

Victor tried stepping in his son's way, and subsequently Marylin heard his voice a little clearer.

"Son, I'm not goin' to let you go tonight. We're goin' to talk about this, you hear me? You still need to get your head on straight. It's not safe for her to see you."

"Scott?" Marylin was heard, grew alarmed now.

But Scott didn't reply and instead stared his father down. It was a testimony of wills… Scott would one day be just as dominant and strong of a wolf as his father—that day had not yet come—so Scott broke eye contact first.

"_Scott_?" he heard Marylin say again.

"We'll meet you tomorrow," Scott grudgingly answered, and Victor relaxed for the time being.

"Scott, b-be careful," Marylin told his son. "I don't want anything happening to you. Scott, please." Everything she was told about Victor Lennox was that he was dangerous. He left his son and never came back, and now they were reunited?

"Watch yourself," she said.

Scott looked at his father again while he spoke into the phone: "You don't have to worry about that. I am. I'll talk with you later. Get some sleep." Not taking his eyes from his sire, he hung up the phone.

"Don't think you're going to be able to do that dominant thing whenever you want," Scott warned in agitation, bristled.

Victor stood taller and crossed his arms. "I'm merely speakin' from experience, Scott. I've been a wolf for thirty years, an' the first years are the most dangerous. You're only your fifth month. The beast can try to seize you even when you aren't even expectin' it. You aren't goin' to endanger the others. I won' let you."

"I would never hurt them," Scott growled. "So what, you think the best thing to do would be to leave them? How did that work out for you?"

A frown creased his father's face, but he couldn't lie.

"I began to regret it, once I learned my control," Victor admitted gruffly. "Then it was just too late, but I _am_ sorry. If you learn to control faster than I did, then your life may turn out different than mine. Not all are able to live among humans, as you've seen during your time with that pack."

"Well I know _I _can. I spent some time with Marylin when I came back, and even a couple of nights, so I know what I'm capable of doing." Scott shook his head, his old anger having resurfaced. "I'm not going to make your mistakes. This thing is a part of my life, it _isn't_ the whole thing."

Victor took an intimidating step toward his son. "You don' think it is?" he challenged. "You're a new man, Scott, you're changed forever. You'll never be the same, nor will your life, not to anyone."

Scott stepped right up to Victor, so close their faces were mere inches apart.

"You may have screwed _your_ life to hell, but I was taught never to turn my back on what I love by a man who understood what happened when he didn't go after what he wanted."

Jake King, Lillian's father.

So Victor's own resolve wavered. His guilt weighed heavy on him once more, coupled with the love he had, the love that never dried nor worn, even after all these years of tragedy and loneliness. He would carry it and his shame with him, until the day he died, whenever that would be—by others or until life became too unbearable to live longer.

Sighing, Victor softly asked, "Do you care about her, son?"

"Who?" Scott snapped back, so tied up in his anger with his father to realize.

"Marylin. Do you love her, Scott?"

It shocked him enough to take a half step back. "Yeah, I do."

Victor nodded and lowered his gaze between them. Slowly he turned around to steel his emotions back in place, letting out a few inward breaths to calm himself. But the downturned curve on his mouth remained, to be forever etched there as a faint grimace. He saw himself so much in Scott that now he knew couldn't deny his son the right to a family, or a love. Victor realized he couldn't let history repeat itself—if it would, he'd never forgive himself. So perhaps if he helped his son, giving him the guidance Victor never had, his fate would be different. Maybe, just maybe it would.

"I'll help you, son," his father promised. "I'll…do everythin' I can, to redeem myself. I'll teach you everythin' I know."

The anger dropped from Scott's face, surprise and hope mingled in its place.

"You will?"

He'd seen his father in action that day. His mother had told him constantly when she'd been alive, and finally he begun to believe that his father was in fact a very talented and strong man.

Victor turned back to him and solemnly said, "I will. I promise."

There was no colliding in a hug or huge exclamation of joy. Instead, Scott took another step back and nodded. He gave his father space and looked away from him, though his eyes did dart up to him again, almost as though he was nervous.

"Yeah… okay. What do I, uh…what do I have to do?"

"_Listen_ to me," his father said, but there was no bite in his voice—just simple request. "We will start in the mornin'. Until then…you can take the couch." It was late, half-past four AM and even Victor was feeling worn. If they were to begin the next day, they needed their rest.

Victor stepped into the hall and gave a slight nod, wordlessly bidding goodnight.

Scott's eyes narrowed in thought as he watched him and then, after a moment, he too nodded in return and went to the couch as instructed. That night, it wasn't dreams of the moon that haunted him, but memories instead.

* * *

Sam fought with his annoyance. He had known that Marylin hid something, and just because he now knew her reason for it, it didn't mean that he didn't have to be bothered by it. Yes, he said some things about werewolves…but did that automatically mean he wouldn't have helped her if she had come right out and confessed before they got into this mess?

The man sighed.

She had probably assumed correct. Yet he couldn't say one-hundred percent. There was at least a small percentage that might have. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he pushed his shoes out of the way and ran a hand down over his face. He liked her. He really did. He wanted to trust her, but she'd ruined that trust, which meant that in his mind, her image was now automatically tarnished.

As he thought, wondered what to do next, there came a light, unexpected knock on his door and he easily guessed who it was. Through the crack in the curtains, he saw a female figure shift on her feet. She was a few feet from the door, uncertain as to whether he was awake or not, even though his nightstand light was lit. And Sam wasn't sure if he wanted to open the door for her. The man remained where he was, hesitating.

But then she knocked again, and he knew he couldn't ignore her—something might've come up. He finally rose and cautiously approached the door. The expression on her face was guilt-ridden, as it had been for the last few days.

"I'm sorry. I know it's late, but your light was on," she quickly apologized. "Did I wake you up?"

"Not exactly." Sam looked at her, uncertainty written on his face. "You want to come in?" he asked after a moment and took a step back to give her some space.

Marylin nodded and passed through the room, stopping a few paces from him. She composed herself a little and before turning back around.

"I came to tell you that Scott called," she told him. " Just now. Something did happen, though he didn't tell me what. He said he'll be here tomorrow."

Sam watched her and then looked back towards the open door before closing it.

"Well, that's great, you found him." If that was the case, there was no need for him to stay longer.

The woman lowered. "I'm sorry…for dragging you all the way up here. If I would have known he was alright…" she said. "I just—didn't want to be alone."

Her words really hadn't meant anything until she said her last piece—Sam instantly sighed.

"Why didn't you just say that from the beginnin'? I mean, I woulda come with you and you wouldn't have had to keep anythin' from me."

"I was panicking!" Marylin admitted. Now, she felt ashamed and cowardly on top of it all. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what you would say, I didn't think you'd come with me otherwise. And you hardly know Scott. He didn't give you a very good first impression either. I didn't want to lie to you, Sam, I didn't."

"I wouldn't have gone with you for Scott, Marylin. In fact, I didn' go with you to help Scott." He shook his head and grimaced. "I came with to help _you._ I wanted to make sure _you_ were okay."

Now she met his gaze and didn't look away, her expression softening. "I am now."

Hearing that, Sam looked even more uncertain. "I'm glad. Where was he?"

"I don't know. He didn't say." Marylin turned to face the window and crossed her arms, a new worry surfacing about her, even though Scott told her not to fret. "But he said he somehow found his father, his actual father, who was never a part of his life, and now I'm worried."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "His actual father? I thought you said all of your parents were dead."

Marylin stared through a bit of un-curtained window, looked past the glittering, wet parking lot.

"They are… His mother and stepfather are, Lilly's parents, but Scott's real father's apparently not. He's—he's one of them, just like Scott. He'd been turned before he was born, and that's why he left his mother and him. Scott never saw him again."

Sam knew only too well what something like a deserting parent felt like. He strangely felt a small vibe of kinship with Marylin's werewolf.

"He's coming tomorrow then? Are you going to go back to Bon Temps? Lillian should be here soon, too."

"Yeah, but I don't know what we're going to do. Scott probably wants to kill Eric now, for taking her away. So it would probably be best if we don't go anywhere near there," she said sadly and looked back. "I don't know what we're going to do with Scott either, when the next full moon comes." Despite Scott's reassurances, Marylin was hesitant to trust him completely—she remembered how he was before he left, so tense and heated. He was more than just a hunter.

"He's not the same anymore," she said quietly, as if finally realizing. Some parts of him changed for the better, but other parts scared her. If she stayed with him, she'd have to live with him and his beast for the rest of her life.

Sam watched her quietly, saw her torn grief, and slowly, after a moment went to her and took her elbows from behind.

"He can't help that he's changed," he whispered softly after a moment.

Marylin grew tentative in his hold—it was unexpected. But she found herself staying there in its ease.

"But there's nothing anyone can do, not even me. I don't know how to help him… And if other hunters found out what he is…even if _Bobby_ found out, he'd—he'd say there's no other choice."

Sam let go of her and watched her turn back. "So does that mean you'll send him away?"

She was silent a long while. His question sent a wave of daunting anxiety through her, chilled her and made her feel bad. She already sent Scott away before, leaving him—could she really do it again? She had promised him she wouldn't, but would it be for his own good?

"I'll…I'll have to talk to Lilly." Marylin turned back around, sighed. "We already left him once. I don't know what we'll do," and she really didn't. This was the type of fix she'd never been in.

Sam turned to the sink by the bathroom door and got a quick drink of water.

"I don't know if Lilly would be the best unbiased sort to talk to, considerin' she's with a vampire," he pointed out. "Just make sure you really think about it, before you do somethin'."

Marylin followed him a few steps, her expression sort of desperate, as she hesitated slightly, before asking the man:

"What…do you think I should do, Sam?"

"I think you need to figure that out for yourself, but remember, Marylin," he said as he turned around to face her again, gestured with an outstretched finger. "Werewolves are volatile. They explode and are as unpredictable as they come."

"I know."

She didn't argue this time—she slowly went to the door to leave and reached for the handle, for it was already too late in the night. "I'll try to figure it out. Thanks…for being here. Thank you for your help."

"Marylin," he called to stop her. "I didn't say that because I didn't want to help you. I said that because you're the one that's goin' to have to live with your choice…not me. If I could make it for you, I would, but it's not my decision."

She nodded her head slightly, though she was unable to stop a frown.

"I was just never good at making them, not in these kinds of situations," she muttered. She stepped half-way out the doorway and glanced at Sam one last time.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Sam replied as he watched her go.

When the door shut behind her, his grimace never left his face, and he forced the hand that had lifted to stop her, back down to his side. He didn't envy the decision she had to make. He just hoped she was strong enough to make the right one.

* * *

Eric had been sore on two points when Lilly had left him earlier that morning. Over all, he didn't like the fact that they had had to cut their vacation in Chicago short, but the fact that she'd also insisted on actually sleeping through some of the night hadn't made him any happier. It didn't matter that they were in a car, apparently, it still annoyed him. Of course, ever since he'd discovered that they were going on this trip, the slightest thing annoyed him, or made him exasperated and sarcastic.

Not being able to do anything about it, though, Lillian parked their rented, window-darkened BMW in the Denny's parking lot and headed inside. The smell that immediately greeted her had her mouth watering.

Hash browns, pancakes, French toast, bacon… It all smelled incredible, which was strange considering she'd probably never eaten better than when she was with Eric.

After seeing that she was the first to arrive, the woman informed the waitress that the table would be for at least three, and one that was perhaps out of the bustle of the room would be more appropriate. The spot wasn't free right away, but after a short minute wait, the waitress seated her and settled her with a glass of orange juice until the others arrived.

It didn't take long, for Marylin was always on time. Lillian was bombarded with a choking, I-fucking-missed-my-best-friend hug and then an angry yell to make sure she felt decidedly guilty.

"I can't believe he even let you go! God, Lilly, what the hell's even going through your head right now? Tell me," beseeched Marylin heatedly. "Because I'm trying to understand but I can't!"

Lillian lifted an eyebrow, straightened her jacket, glanced around to see if anyone had noticed the near attack. When she saw that they hadn't, she looked back and smile patiently.

"He doesn't own me, Mar," she began. "I know it's hard to understand, but I can do what I want."

That seemed to fly right past Marylin's ears, as she scoffed, and then instead asked, "Where is he? Back in Chicago?"

"No, he's back at the hotel. There was no point of him staying in Chicago alone, so he came with."

It was the truth.

"Why doesn't he just go back to Shreveport?" Marylin questioned as she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "He's the Sheriff, isn't he?"

"He's going to… but we arrived too late in the morning for him to go on." That was actually just a guess on Lilly's part. "Look, we didn't come here to talk about Eric. You said this is the last place you tracked Scott to?"

Though the argument wasn't over, some of Marylin's anger reduced and she nodded.

"Yeah, I found his phone," she said after a beat or two. "But he called late last night, so I know that he's okay now. He didn't tell me where he was, but he said he's going to be here later today. With…with his father." Marylin looked at Lilly with grave concern. "He found him somehow."

"_Victor found him_?" Lillian fell back in her chair, troubled. "Why would he go with him? Scott hates Victor. He always loved Dad."

"I know…" Marylin frowned. "I don't know what the hell's going on. I think he might be bringing him with him. And if Eric's here, God, Lilly, it's not going to be good," she said with renewed warning. "It's going to be very bad."

"As long as it's during the day, Eric won't be there. Besides, I'm going to try and talk to him to keep him back, anyway."

"Lilly, I don't know what kind of spell he has you under, but here," Marylin took out a little leather satchel from her pocket and tossed it to the girl. "If you're not going to listen to me, keep it with you. Please. You hear me?"

Lilly started opening the bag. "What is it?"

"It's vervain. Don't spill it. Keep it with you," Marylin repeated. Then the waitress, as if seeing that their argument was finally over, sauntered over with her little notebook and pen and asked for their orders, if they were going to eat at all. Marylin gave a wave and just asked for a cup of coffee, straight black.

"And you?" Utterly lazy-seeming, the waitress roved her dull eyes to Lilly. "What do you want?"

"Farmer's Market omelet, thanks," Lillian said for herself.

The waitress jotted it down and sauntered away and Lillian immediately turned with an edged look on her best friend.

"I do _not_ need to carry this," she whispered hotly. "Do you understand how insulting that would be?"

"You can hide it," Marylin said simply, and let her gaze pass through the rest of the restaurant, idly noting the people. "How do you know he hasn't glamoured you already, Lilly? Better yet, you should steep some of it. It'll help nullify anything he's got over you."

Lillian held up her index and thumb fingers for measurement.

"Marylin, I'm _this_ close to getting up and walking out again," she warned. "You have done nothing but condemn him when he has done nothing but help us in everything we've asked of him. Not to mention by not trusting him, you're not trusting _my_ judgment."

"Lately, Lilly, I'm afraid your judgment hasn't been too good," Marylin informed her coldly. "Before, never would you even look at a vampire, let alone give him a moment of mercy before you staked one, and now it's as if you've become—" But she paused to rethink her words, then just didn't finish her thought.

"We are not like _them_! _They're_ not human, Lilly!"

"Wait, become a what, Marylin?" Lilly asked hotly. "Become a what? A fangbanger? Is that what you were going to say?" The woman found her appetite gone as she pursed her lips. "It's interesting to hear you say that considering you're sleeping with a _dog_."

Yes, Scott was her brother, but in this situation, Marylin was showing her own stripes of being a hypocrite.

"What's that say about _your_ judgment?" Lilly said.

Marylin's face fell and she paled partially, at a loss for words. She thought about the conversation she had with Sam the night before. For a long moment, she stared at the table underneath her arms and swallowed.

"Lilly, I'm—I'm not with Scott anymore. I haven't been for a year," she said flatly. "And I don't know if I could again." She assured herself that it was for the best, forced any thoughts of doubt out of her head, before guilt suffused back in. "I don't think I could live with what he is, I've just realized." She looked at Lilly, tried to keep from frowning. "I don't think I could do it…and you know what Bobby would say if he found out. Scott's always been difficult anyway. How many times have I fought with him and Bobby had to break us apart?"

Lilly took her napkin from her lap and tossed it onto the table.

"Well, then you've just denied me as well," she said all of a sudden. "A vampire is my lover and my brother is a werewolf. Now I know where you stand."

The woman stood up.

"Enjoy the omelet," Lilly said.

"Wait, Lilly—!" Marylin grabbed her arm before she turned to leave. "Lilly, what have we been taught? Remember everything that we've gone through. What did our parents try to teach us before they died? Lee Ann, Bobby… Why do we do what we do?" she implored.

"For _each other_," Lilly replied, glaring down at her. "We do this for each other, because when it comes down to it, that's all we have left."

"No, Lilly, we do it protect _them_, the others out there who are oblivious, the everyday people—from the dark, unhuman world that's trying to reveal itself to them. That's what my dad did, that's what all our parents did. You were just too little to remember, Lilly."

"Thank you for clearing that up for me."

Lilly pulled her arm free from Marylin's grasp and started to walk away, but then Lilly stopped and looked back at her. "Oh, and cancel the meeting with my brother. I'll meet with him. He doesn't need your rejection right now."

And just like that, she walked out.

And Marylin watched her go, and ignored the waitress as she returned with their orders and saw one of them was gone. Marylin couldn't move, too frozen to do anything. She stared ahead at Lilly's empty chair, and slowly pulled some bills out of her wallet to drop on the table. Then she numbly stood, not even taking a little sip from her steaming, hot coffee, and left for the exit, to where her Camaro stood in the lot.

It was for the best, as she'd said to herself, but with each step, she felt worse and worse.

* * *

Sam had waited back at the motel. The sun was setting. Even though she considered just bypassing his door and continuing onto her hers, she knocked so she could let him know the decision she made. At least he would probably be happy, right? And she could return to Bon Temps with him. And maybe they could continue where they left off when she left the little town in the first place, when Scott spirited her away. Who knew. Honestly it didn't matter to her anymore. Losing Lilly hit her more than shunning Scott. Marylin felt numb.

As Sam opened the door, she lifted droopy, red eyes to meet his gaze. Yeah, she'd been crying. And yeah, she tried to hide it.

Before he said anything through his instantaneous, non-surprising concern—that puppy dog expression—she cut him off.

"It's settled. Let's go back to Bon Temps."

He looked torn. Though he felt the decision she'd made was the right one, it was also the hard one.

"Okay..." he said gently. But rather than grab his things right away, he stepped back out of the doorway and held the entrance open for her to come in.

"Come on. Why don't you come sit down for a minute?"

The utterly devastated look on her face pulled at his chest and only his own uncertain timidity kept him from taking her into his arms.

Marylin went to the edge of the single bed and briefly looked at the television and saw that he'd been watching the news. Word on the Vampire Rights Amendment just plummeted her mood further.

"Although, maybe you wouldn't mind driving?" she asked. With her had come the smell of whiskey. She had just a glass at the bar nearby.

So thinking it best, Sam nodded.

"Yeah, I'll take care of it. You just sit there and relax a little bit. You want some water or something?" he asked as he tossed a rumpled tee-shirt into his bag.

"Yeah. I'll get it."

And Marylin stood and strode rather quickly to the sink. Swaying, she nearly fell into it but caught herself just in time with an, "_Umph_." It was not just the whiskey, but the crying, the guilt, the wretchedness. She grabbed one of the plastic glasses beside the soup and started filling it up.

"Hey, hey," Sam said as he quickly went after her and caught her by her upper arms. "Take it easy. Come, just sit down, I'll get it for you." With the water gushing from the faucet and into the sink, Sam gently took the cup from her hands and turned her back around to lead her to the bed.

"You just take it easy."

For some reason, she found something funny in his earnest care and snorted slightly.

"I'm not wasted," she said defiantly.

"You don't have to be wasted to have me help you out a bit," he countered as he headed back to the sink. After filling up the cheap plastic cup he turned the faucet off and handed it to her.

Silently, she looked up at him and then drank. She drank the whole thing out of unexpected thirst. Then she gave him back the cup, since he wanted to help her so much.

"Thank you," she muttered, and looked back at the television, where the news woman announced more vampire/human marriages in Vermont or whatever and alarming wedding clips played with smiling husbands and wives. Their fangs glinted in flashes of cameras. Rice was thrown.

They went inside their cars with their "Just married" signs, and members waved them off, family members that approved of the unions. There in Vermont.

All of it—all of the supposed happiness of the reformed individuals—suddenly made Marylin's eyes well up.

Sam followed her gaze to the TV and his grimaced intensified. Slowly, he grabbed the rest of his belongings and tossed them into a bag.

"Come on. Let's get on the road. You got all your stuff together?"

"Uh, no, not yet," her voice cracked. Then she quickly wiped her eyes and stood. "But I'll get it together quick." She fished for her keys inside her jacket pocket and held them out. "Here."

"Yeah, I'll uh," he started as he took them and grabbed his bag. "I'll get the car warmed up." Sam wasn't entirely sure he should let her go on her own, but rather than try to restrict her, he let her. The look on his face said he wasn't completely certain of his choice.

He watched Marylin go to the door, open it, and glance back at him, saying, "Thank you, Sammy."

She never called him that before. Actually no one did. Taken aback, the man didn't answer and watched her go.

* * *

"Scott?"

Outside the motel, the man spun around at the sound of her voice and instantly smiled and went to her, enveloping her in a hug. It was brief, however, and after a few seconds, he pushed her back and grabbed her by her upper arms.

"Lillian, what have you been thinking?" he asked, his voice gruff.

"_Clearly_, though you may not think so, " the girl replied with a weary smile, and gently tugged against his grasp.

Though it took him a moment, her brother did finally let her go.

Lilly spotted Victor behind Scott and looked him over. She'd seen pictures of course, but it had been so long that his appearance still shocked her. He looked no older than forty-five, no doubt because of what he was, but Scott was the spitting image of him. Tall, strong, grave.

Scott gestured to the man and took a step back. "Lilly, this is Victor."

"Lilly." Victor nodded, and while he forced a faint smile, he then frowned. The last time he saw the girl was when she was only a couple months old, when Nora, her mother, had briefly shown her to him while Jake, Lilly's dad, wasn't around. Lilly looked like all babies did when newly born, and now…

"You look just like your mother," Victor couldn't help but say. Yet he stayed beside Scott, so as not to scare Lilly. She had the same characteristic stubbornness etched about her as Nora had, though there was a good deal of Jake in her, which made her not related to Victor.

Lillian cautiously answered, "Thank you," before finally managing to pull her gaze away from him and up to her brother for a glance. Then, not wanting any awkwardness, she said quietly: "My mother always had…good things to say about you, Victor."

Scott decided to save them all from where the conversation had been leading:

"Where's Marylin?"

Lillian immediately looked remorsed. "Scott…she's not coming."

Scott's heart hammered at once. "What? She said she would meet us here. What happened?"

Lillian's eyes slid to Victor, though they only rested on him for a moment before returning back to her brother. Victor grew concerned at once—part of him had expected something like this.

"She's scared, Scott…" Lilly said.

"No, she's not. I just spoke to her last night!"

"Scott, I'm telling you. I met with her this morning. She's not coming." Lillian hated herself for having to tell her big brother this, but there was no other way.

"What did she say? What did _you_ say?" Scott demanded.

"_She_ was the one that said it, Scott. She said…we're hunters and you can never be the same. I know, Scott, it doesn't make sense."

Scott spun away from his sister. He tried to calm his breathing. In the moment, he didn't care. _This_ went against everything he'd been trying to accomplish! He wasn't going to be like his father, and yet here, here _brilliant_ fate tried to force him in that direction.

"Scott… _I_ won't leave you…" Lilly said softly. "I won't." But Scott didn't hear her and jumped away from her hand as it reached towards his shoulder to comfort him.

"You smell like a fang," he snapped at her.

"Scott…" Lilly pulled her hand back, stung. "Y-you're not going to start that now? S-Surely?"

"You could have at least bathed before you came to meet us," Scott growled, responded with vehemence due to his own wounds.

Though Victor didn't approve of Eric either, and smelled him on her, too, Scott's father held him back with a grasp on his bicep—he saw the heat that was rising off the younger man and kept him a precautious distance from Lilly. Scott tried to pull his arm back, but Victor didn't let him go.

"Scott," he began warningly. "It's okay. It doesn' matter. Lilly, where is the vampire?" He then looked to the girl, but his voice was calm to her surprise, void of any judgment she could find. "Are you alright? He hasn' done anythin' to you, has he?"

Lilly shook her head. "No, of course not. He's back at the hotel."

Scott breathed heavily through his nose, his teeth clenched together. He shook with rage and hurt. His father gently managed to lead him away a few steps. Victor pressed mouth together a moment in thought. As he glanced around the parking lot, he spotted his Mustang.

"Lilly, then we're just goin' to go," he said finally. "Scott's goin' to come back with me."

"What?" said his son in sudden alarm. His father ignored him for the moment.

"I'm goin' to take him away for a few weeks," he said calmly to his sister. "We're goin' be away from people, away in the mountains where I live. I'll help Scott get his head together. He won' be able to do it anywhere else, and he'll be safe with me. Okay? I promise."

Lilly watched her brother and wanted to go to him.

"I…" After all, she'd just banished Marylin from her and now her _brother_ was being taken away? "Scott…"

Scott clenched his eyes shut and then shook out of his father's grasp perhaps a bit more violently then he intended. He started for his father's truck. Lilly looked crestfallen.

"Here, take the Mustang." Victor tossed her Scott's keys, which had been in his pocket. "I trust you are as careful as your mother and you'll watch yourself. If anythin' happens, you'll call the others. Don' lose contact with them, nor Marylin. When Scott's ready, I'll bring him back."

The man was truthful, and while Lilly didn't trust him completely, she didn't quite have a choice. She looked down at the keys in her hand and then back up at Victor. He went round his truck to his door, unlocking the car, and nodded solemnly to the girl.

She steeled her resolve and nodded her head in return. Seeing Scott leave with his father had an old pain blossoming up within her. The girl disregarded it and turned to get into her brother's car.

Victor glanced at his son as the older man started the truck, though Victor knew he was now to be ignored. Scott barely contained himself in his seat, eyes fixed firmly out the window, fists clenched so tight that they were white and trembled at his sides. His father gently advised him to breathe, and then Victor hastily drove on out of there, while Mustang swerved in the opposite direction, shrinking in the night through the rearview.


	17. Bad Moon Rising

I see the bad moon arising.

I see trouble on the way.  
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.  
I see bad times today.

Don't go around tonight,  
Well, it's bound to take your life,  
There's a bad moon on the rise.

~ CCR

. . .

Though she'd had a really strong desire to go to the bar, Lillian had instead resisted the urge and returned to her and Eric's hotel, not motel. The sun had only recently set, which made her assume that a certain vampire would still be sleeping. All she wanted was to draw a bath and soak with the companionship of the cheap bottle of wine she'd bought from the gas station before heading up to the room.

As quietly as she could, the woman closed the door behind her and shrugged out of her jacket, not bothering to hang it up, draped it over the small armchair in the foyer. After toeing out of her shoes and nudging them beneath the chair, she went straight for the bathroom.

But little had she known that Eric had gotten up early that night and intercepted her on her way there, managed to startle her a little. Though he didn't show it entirely, he was relieved to see her unharmed and well. There apparently hadn't been a scuffle, otherwise he would have sensed it earlier. But she did look dismayed to him for some reason.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"It went fine," she replied, only glancing up at him briefly. "How did you sleep?"

"As well as to be expected in a three star hotel in Bumblefuck," he said with some unsurprising disdain. In all honesty the conditions of their hotel room didn't concern him that much. He watched Lilly, stepped into the bathroom with her.

"What happened to your brother? Did your friend manage to recover from her panic attack?"

"Yes, in the way you'd expect," Lilly said as she placed the bottle on the bathroom counter and leaned over into the tub to turn the water on. "She decided she couldn't accept him, so I told her not to see him."

"So she left?" Eric assumed. He stopped behind her, glanced briefly at the tub and the bursting bubbles at the spout. "Hm. I have to say I'm not surprised it went that way. Could be for the best," he offered levelly, and for once didn't profess his dislike.

Lilly turned to face him. "But she _knew_ what he was," she said with exasperation. "She knew what he was before he disappeared. How could she do that to him? I know how much he loves her and she just shuts him out like that because of some crap about how we're hunters so it shouldn't matter?"

"Then she obviously doesn't have the same tolerance as you," the man said. "But werewolves are not known to assimilate among humans as us vampires. They are often in packs, behaving more like animals. We…_enjoy_ living alongside you, _depend_ on you, while they shun you away. Maybe to her he's now just like the rest of them," he offered with a gravity he couldn't help.

Lilly turned away and leaned down to pull off her socks.

"Eric, I don't want to do this right now, she said. She dropped the socks on the floor and sighed. "There's no reason for her not to be tolerant. We weren't raised by zealots," she murmured as she undid her belt.

The vampire watched her, his eyes glittering faintly, but he didn't leave.

"Then I don't think there's anything you can do. Let's forget about them for now," he suggested and took a step towards her. "Let's try to forget about it all, mm? Before we have to return to my area."

"Are we going back tonight then? I have my brother's car."

"I have to get there earlier than you, so you'll have to drive alone, but you can leave after your bath…" He let himself smirk a little.

"How gracious of you, considering my bath needs like that," she replied with a small smirk of her own. They could talk about what else was on her mind later.

"Yes, but your other needs concern me as well," Eric assured.

He reached for the edge of her button-up shirt, nimbly unbuttoning the button at the bottom, then the one above. He cared very much about Lilly's wellbeing, even if he might've seemed dismissive at times. He just didn't want her morose and sought to amend that by cheering her up, sly in the art of enticing.

"I see that," she said.

She watched his hands do their work, her smirk grew. Lifting her eyes, she looked up at him and shook her head—the others would _never_ see what she did, and that was something she'd just have to accept.

* * *

The sound of the gravel crunching under the Camaro's tires woke Marylin. She lifted her head from the glass of her window and opened her eyes to see Sam's restaurant through the windshield. The sign was still lit in the dark but it was closing. A few waitresses were leaving. Only a couple customers remained, probably finishing up pitchers of beer and shots of whiskey. The clock read just a little past 1 AM.

Marylin could still taste the whiskey in her own mouth, a sour taste. And sleeping the entire ride back to Bon Temps had given her an unpleasant feeling overall, physically. The Camaro's bucket seats were deceiving—despite the worn cushions, they weren't so comfortable. Her temple ached from being pressed into the glass and her ass hurt.

Sam parked in front of his trailer. As she got out of the car, she winced and said, "Thanks, Sam."

No Sammy this time, now that she was focused, not susceptible to crying anymore. Her voice was level, if a bit flat.

"I'm going to go to the Inn. Maybe I'll stay in town for a few days."

"Well, how about you just stay here," Sam offered as he climbed out of the driver's side. "At least let me drive you. Terry can follow so I can leave the Camaro with you."

Marylin went around the front of her car towards him and said, "I'm good. I'm fine now. There's no need."

With his ever-present puppy-dog look of concern on his face, Sam nodded and handed her the keys.

"Okay, but if you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Just down the road, yeah."

She forced a smile and gazed at him for just a moment longer. His soft brown eyes twinkled in the waning moon's light from above them. His small smile gave her goosebumps. God, did this man have a _single_ bad bone in his body?

"Thank you, Sam," Marylin had to say again. Her eyebrows knotted and she glanced between them. "For everything. You're…you're too much of a good guy." She met his eyes again and repeated softly, "You're too good."

He smiled and glanced away to the side briefly, before looking back and shaking his head. "Nah, you don't know that. Good night, Marylin."

Sam gave her another grin and turned to grab his bag before stepping back away from the car. Marylin sat inside her seat, shut the door, and through the pulled-down window watched him retreat into his house. She grew thoughtful and fell into her thoughts so deep that she forgot to return the goodbye.

He really _was_ too good.

Then when Sam looked through his window from inside the trailer, clearly wondering why she hadn't driven away yet, finally Marylin put the Camaro in reverse and turned it around. She passed the bar and its darkened sign.

* * *

"Three days gone an' you aren't even gonna tell us where you were?" Tara scoffed at her boss as she wiped down some glasses at the bar counter so irritably that one of them nearly fell. "You took a vacation or somethin'? While we were here frickin' working our asses off?"

"Sam hasn't had a vacation in a long time, Tara," Sookie told her, grabbing some menus and scurrying towards two elderly customers and, on the way, whispering to Sam, "Don' mind her, she just had a fight with Eggs. She's been like that since yesterday."

"I heard that!" snapped Tara. "Not all us gotta be as damn cheerful and happy as you, Sookie."

Then she turned away to pour herself a shot of strong liquor, muttering something about marriages and how she hoped never to be a part of one. Sookie only sighed and gave an apologetic look to Sam, while Lafayette then sauntered in, flipping a rag over his shoulder.

"Seriously, boyfriend, watchu been doin'? You didn' tell us anythin' when you ran off with Marylin," the cook's eyes narrowed slyly, before he tested the name out again and grinned. "_Marylin_. Tha's her name right?"

"Aren't you supposed to be cookin' somethin'?" Sam asked Lafayette with an exasperated sigh. "In case all of you have forgotten, _I'm_ the boss here. So why don't you all just get back to work?"

"Ooo, someone's got their pan'ies in a bunch," Lafayette said with a grin. "But don't you be worrin' about it neither. Them panties look _good_."

The cook gave Sam a knowing wink and swaggered back into the kitchen, hips swaying.

Fortunately, before Sam had to repeat himself again, the rest of his employees got back to work too, and their boss went about making sure everything else in his restaurant was in check. Indeed while he was away, it seemed that Sookie and the others managed to keep the restaurant running smoothly and under control.

As Sam helped his waitresses clear a table, the door chimed and the woman who they'd just been discussing walked in. Sookie and Arlene both looked up, and Sam pointedly cleared his throat so they would wipe the grins off their faces. Marylin appeared better. She smiled slightly approached the bar to take a seat. His restaurant was running as it usually was.

"Did everyone miss you while you were gone?" she asked.

"No, they handled it fine," Sam told her with a small smile. He shot Tara a look when she snorted under her breath. Then he focused his attention once more on Marylin. "What can I get for you?" he asked.

"Uh, just a coffee for now," she said without much thought, not very hungry. "I just wanted to get out of the motel for a while, say hi to everyone."

"Where's Lilly?" Sookie asked as she came over. "And her brother? Did they come back with you?"

Marylin clasped her hands on the bar counter and looked down at them. She frowned. Sookie grew a little concerned. "No, Scott's gone, and Lilly's with Eric, so they'll probably be in Shreveport," said the hunter.

"So you're here alone?" When the hunter nodded, Sookie shook her head and gently touched her arm. "Well, that's okay, we're all gonna be here. You don't have to be alone anymore. Lafayette just made his clam chowder. What if I was to get you a bowl?"

The cheerful offer was sincere.

But Marylin forced a smile and said, "I'm good for now, but thanks. Maybe later." She turned to Sam, who brought her coffee, and Sookie looked at him with a strange, knowing look.

"Alright, well, you just tell me when you're ready for it and I'll be sure to go and grab it, okay?" Sookie gave Marylin one last smile and then left to go take care of her other tables.

Sam placed a small carafe of milk and an assortment of sugar packets before her. "Well, yer sure liked around here at least," he said with a small grin.

Marylin smirked slightly and took one of the packets, for once preferring sweet instead of bitter. She lowered her voice a tad and looked around the joint with a grimace.

"Half these people still think I'm a ranger. Maybe I'll have to clear that up somehow later, but I'm not sure if I want to go through the trouble." Stirring in her sugar, she then took a sip and took a moment to relish the warmth of the liquid.

"Sheriff Dearborne seemed to forget who I am," she added.

"That doesn't really sound like the Sheriff," Sam commented as he polished the bar in front of her with a rag. "But that has to be a good thing, right?"

"Yes, of course it is, however strange." Marylin took a few more sips, silent for a moment or two before looking back at him almost timidly.

"Would you mind if I stayed here for some of the day?" she said, just to be certain. "I…can even help if you need an extra hand around here." She hadn't expected to offer this. It would be better than simply sitting around and doing nothing. Mulling was never good for her.

"Well, uh… we've kind of got the tables covered, maybe the bar…" But Sam was cut off as Tara spun around to look at him.

"Oh, no, you just didn', Sam Merlotte," she warned.

Sam quickly turned away from his barkeep back to Marylin. "Or not. You don't have to help, but you can stay," he decided.

"Okay. It's fine," the hunter quickly gave Tara an apologetic look, but the girl simply shot her a glare and resumed working.

Marylin returned to her coffee and found the prospect of that clam chowder start to appeal her—perhaps a good meal would make her feel better. She watched Sam out of the corner of her eye and noticed him shoot glances at her. They were silent for a while, as if both trying to decide on what to say next…but with Tara right there, and Sookie and Arlene returning back and forth for beverage orders, Sam and Marylin remained rather quiet towards each other, only exchanging small smiles and a few words here and there.

Arlene briefly stopped by to ask if she and her partner ever found that beast that had killed several weeks ago and Marylin was happy to assure her they did. The monster was long gone, and for now nothing was stirring Bon Temps—only a wedding, which Sookie returned to gush about. She and Bill seemed happier than ever, and it made Marylin wonder with sudden worry if Lilly and Eric would ever come close to that. But it was a thought Marylin forced herself to banish at once.

Fortunately the conversation soon ended when two new costumers arrived, for Sookie had to run off and greet them. The familiar male voices had Marylin pausing over her bowl of chowder.

Amiable, chuckling, cheery, handsome boys who immediately lit up as Sookie went to seat them. They were almost identical twins, both taller than anyone there (at staggering six-foot-four) and stuck out so much, for there were no giant twins in their town, that everyone turned to glance at them. One twin, hair longer than the other, clad in an orange leather jacket with a cheeky look about his face, gave Sookie a nice, long once-over behind her back, and nudged his brother before she turned around to give them their menus.

"We have a clam chowder special t'day. Maybe I can interest both of you in some?" she offered and smiled artificially. She kept from reading their thoughts. She made care to gesture with her ringed hand, to show that she was rightfully taken.

The leather-clad twin's grin faltered just a second but still remained.

"You got any jambalaya?" he asked. They certainly weren't southerners, and for a moment Sookie thought they were there to cause trouble with the hint of impudence in their tones.

She shifted her weight to one leg and wrote on her pad, suppressing annoyance. "Sure, we got jambalaya. You want some cornbread with that?"

Sam didn't tolerate troublemakers in his bar.

"Yes!" the other twin said with an honest smile. "We've been down here less than a day and already I can't get enough of this stuff. You use actual corn down here instead of just the powdered mix!"

"Mmhm, you might wanna try some sweet tea too," said Arlene as she walked past Sookie. "We've got the best sweet tea 'round."

"_Nice_!" said the first twin, bobbed his head to his brother. "Okay, so let's have the jambalaya, hell the clam chowder too, oh, and the Cajun dirty rice with lamb chops, and the collard greens, and fritters, and maybe the…"

Sookie's eyes went wide and she chuckled disbelievingly. She hurriedly wrote down everything they said. She wasn't worried that the men wouldn't eat everything, for they could probably eat two whole roast boars if Merlotte's served that, the twins were so big.

Marylin had turned around and was staring at them from the bar, amused and surprised. She stood to go to them, so happy to see them that she could've sworn they grew even bigger since the last time she saw them.

"Luke, Joshua—how did you find this place?" she said. Both her cousins grinned at her from their seats, while shock suffused Sookie's face. "I didn't tell you where I was," Marylin exclaimed. Luke, the long-haired one, stood and she hugged him eagerly.

"We tracked your phone," he happily told her, before ruffling her hair. She swatted at him and then gave Joshua a hug.

It was as if she'd never been mad at them, those 12 months ago when they sided with Scott during his last and final ultimatum—he was leader and they had to listen to him to stay safe, or else the women wouldn't hunt anymore. Ever.

"You _know_ them?" Sookie finally asked.

"They're my cousins," Marylin told her, then introduced them: "This is Luke and Joshua. The goliaths of the family. Guys, this is Sookie."

Luke shook Sookie's hand, smiling charmingly. "Hi, there."

"Heh. Hi. Marylin, do you realize how much they ordered?" Sookie said to her.

"That is _nothing_," Joshua told the blonde with a smile as he looped an arm around his cousin's shoulder. "That was just for Luke. I hadn't even gotten a chance to order." The man looked down at Marylin and winked. "But I'll take whatever he's having."

"I…" Sookie's eyes widened further. She grinned and put a hand on her hip. "Well I _never_—you two just might clean us out."

"We wouldn't want to do that," Josh promised, "but I will admit we're hungry. We drove straight through to get here. So has my Cuz been okay? She tends to get a little cranky if she hasn't had her coffee."

Marylin swatted at him, too, and said, "I had my coffee today."

Then she sat down with them, and, after checking if she wanted anything, Sookie left them, passed the news of the cousins to Sam, who'd been watching the interactions with a raised brow from his usual post.

"So, did you take care of the wendigo? Why did it take you so long?" Marylin asked the twins.

"Hah, you'd never believe it, Mar, first we thought there was just _one_ of them," Luke said, "but then we found a whole nest we had to wipe out. _Then_ the bastards took off and we were on a damn goose chase with 'em. We nearly went nuts trying to get them all. They passed through a town, weren't even afraid of being seen."

"What?" the woman said in shock.

"Ran right down the street," Josh said, nodding. "Had to pick them off one by one as they got greedy and tried to go after pedestrians. Thankfully, no one else saw them."

Sookie returned with their drinks, but didn't dawdle long. After a quick smile, she left them once again.

"I'm kind of surprised we're still not back there tracking them down," the boy said again, shook his head with raised eyebrows.

"Well, it's good you got them. You did get them all, right?" Marylin said.

"Oh, yeah, don't worry, Mar. They're dead and gone, those fugly sons of bitches." Luke took a large gulp of his ice tea and sighed with satisfaction. "So what have you been doing here? Taking a break? Where's Lilly and Scott?"

"Oh, uh." Now Marylin's smile faded and she looked away from them. "Scott's gone, he left, and Lilly…she's, uh, she's—" She couldn't tell them—not here and not now. They'd flip. "She left too. We broke apart. It didn't last," she said simply with a shrug, though her nonchalance didn't work.

"Wait, when we last talked to you, you said everyone was with you." Josh looked over at his brother, instant worry boiling in his gut. "Where's Lilly?"

"She's fine," Marylin lied. "She's just not here… I think we all need some time apart."

"_More_ time?" Luke said incredulously. "It's been a year! How the hell could you have all fought _again_?"

"Luke, calm down. We just did. Scott and I aren't together anymore, so don't you start about that too," she said tightly, then sighed. "Maybe Lilly will be back. Don't worry about her, either of them."

Luke exchanged looks with Joshua and then briskly took out his phone. "I'm going to call them, tell them to get their asses back here."

Marylin immediately stopped him.

"No! You'll only make it worse, Luke. You're _not_ calling either of them. Leave it alone. I—I want a break… From them and from hunting. It's better for all of us. Hang up, Luke." Though he still looked angry, he did as she said.

He looked stunned. Josh said:

"Marylin, I want to see them. It's been months since we've seen Scott and way too long since we've seen Lil." Both twins felt the same. "We don't even know what happened to Scott—he just suddenly up and left—but maybe you're right about the hunting break. What if we all took a break, just a break together like the old days? I bet if we cut out some of the stress we'd be fine."

The woman let out a breath to hold her emotions in check. "Maybe, but not now. Not any time soon," she said. "You can't force a reunion on us. It's best for us to be separate."

"Why?" Luke demanded a little too heatedly. "Mar, how much longer? A few more months, another year?"

"I don't know. Time will tell."

"Time? Marylin, that's _bullshit_. You know we're all supposed to be together! Just like our parents were—they were never apart. You know that's bullshit!" the boy repeated with a flailing finger.

Marylin turned a darkened gaze on his earnest one. "But they were each other's weaknesses, and you _know_ what happened to them because of it," she reminded a little harsher than she intended.

"We don't know that that's what happened," Joshua cut in, not heatedly, though there was some annoyance in his voice. "We're going to call them, Marylin. If they don't want to come, then they don't have to, but I'm going to give them the choice. You can't make that for them. Luke, call Lilly."

Luke did just that, and Marylin watched tensely…as the call rang and rang…and rang until, to her relief, the boy got voicemail. While pointedly looking at her, he left a message, explaining they were there in Bon Temps with Marylin and wanted to make amends, and so did Marylin, much to her displeasure.

As Sookie came by again with the first tray-full of their food, Marylin took that as an opportunity to stand and dismiss herself. "I'm going to go. You two enjoy your lunch. Maybe I'll see you later."

Irritated, Luke just scoffed and tucked into his jambalaya, bit off half of a cornbread slice.

But Joshua couldn't leave it at that. The boy stood up and quickly followed after Marylin, reached out a hand to stop her a little ways from the table.

"Marylin, wait. You need to understand that it's been over a year since we've seen either of you. We miss you, Cuz, but we also miss Lil."

Marylin softened—Josh had always been the gentler one.

"I know, but I think I need some time alone, at least for a bit," she told him, glancing at Luke, who was stuffing his face to curb his steam and ignoring them. He quickly asked Sookie for more ice tea, and she left with a concerned glance towards his brother and Marylin.

"Do what you want," she said to Joshua. "But I'd like some time alone. I need to recover."

"Hey, I'm still gonna call you," he told her as he took a step back to the table. "Maybe we can go do something later. Just for fun and with no one else." The twin grinned and then turned to sit back at the table.

"Dammit, that was my slice of cornbread, Luke!"

Marylin left before hearing their little squabble, back to the bar where the rest of her coffee and clam chowder was now cold, to find a slightly worried-looking Sam. He had been watching their talk. He saw that it didn't end on a good note.

The woman took out a ten-dollar bill and held it to him. "I think…I'm going to go. I want to maybe take a walk. Thanks for the coffee."

"Yeah, okay. No problem." Sam said as he regarded her with the worried look on his face. He wiped his hands off on his ever-present rag.

Marylin hesitated for a beat, as if about to say something else, but then decided against it, knowing he was busy. She told him quietly, "See you later," and left.

* * *

"_He was taken_."

The blonde-haired woman stood before the bearded man. Both were clad in armor. In a large stone hall, fit for a king, or someone much, _much_ more important. Heavy cauldrons with fire blazing from them lit the atmosphere, reflected off of the pale marble floor.

The man leaned back in his massive, intricately carved chair and brushed some crumbs from his beard as he regarded his Valkyrie.

"You have failed to bring me the one I seek? Did you not inform me that he was the one?"

"Yes, my Lord, I had chosen him for you after long consideration of many battles, however, another went to him before I could."

The man's voice turned hard. In frustration, he threw the tankard of ale he held down onto the floor and ignored it as it skittered and spun. It sprayed the floor with its froth.

"So you have you failed me, Svava?"

The woman didn't react to her angry master's antics and remained standing tall and calm. "Another has taken him. He lives," she said. "Forever."

"He is a god?"

"No. He is vampire, master Odin."

Odin stared at her, unable to fathom how a mere vampire had managed to thwart one of his esteemed Valkyries. Never before had this occurred, and the angry god did not take the news well.

"You will bring him to me, or find _ten_ more to fill his place by the week's end! Now go!"

"As you wish, my Lord," Svava said as she bowed her head.

After a respectable moment, the blonde woman stood and turned, her booted heels striking the flagstone floor with purpose as she left the hall. In the lavish courtyard, a youth stood beside her winged stallion but immediately dropped its reigns and scurried away. And without pause, Svava mounted and the pair kicked up into the sky.

With the sun's chariot already having run through the sky, the moon was bright upon the land. Banished with her task, Svava flew. She'd left the Halls of Valhalla in search of her query, more than willing to take him back with her regardless of his wishes. The offer she had for him was far greater and brought more glory than his current sunless existence ever could.

Oddly enough, he wasn't hard to find. Svava landed and released her steed to graze as he wished. Should she have need of him all she would have to do was call and he would come running.

As the blonde warrior turned her focus upon him, she saw him sitting fireside, the yellow flames illuminating his face, and she smiled.

Stillness came upon the night, so quiet that not even the crickets dare disturb her peace. Though the moon cast its white glow down upon them and the stars aided as was their way, the dancing flames of his fire created a warmth that was not only physical, but emotional as well.

Here he was reminded of day, finding solace in the familiar red-hot coals. He stared at them, and a deep frown marred his features. He appeared torn between happiness and sadness. He was given a new life, the chance to live anew with far more opportunities than his old life could offer, to walk more of the earth than he ever could, yet, he was clouded with doubt.

Hearing something rustle in the trees across from him, Eric stood and sensed someone there. Not a human, but not a vampire either. He could not tell what it was.

"Who is there?" he called, unafraid.

Though the creature at first didn't heed his call, after a moment, she did. Svava stepped through the trees, regal and proud, and Eric backed away a pace, for she glowed an ethereal glow that was nothing like he had ever seen. She was beautiful and bright, clearly not a beast of the night.

But what was she doing _here_?

The vampire was captivated a long while until he found his voice and asked, guardedly: "Who are you?" Had he seen her before?

She smiled then at him and crossed closer so that she stood just on the other side of his fire.

"You have forgotten me then? Are dreams so different when they are had at day rather than night?" The woman tilted her head to the side and watched him, curious.

Then he remembered and breathed: "You were _real_?"

"I was and still am. I am Svava, and you refused me." Her smile broadened then and a glint of marvel entered her eyes. "_Why_? I thought Valhalla was your dream."

"Yes, it was," he answered her. "But then _he_ came and gave me new life, another chance." Eric looked away, his expression unreadable, glowing from both her light and the fire's.

"So now it is too late."

"Why is it a chance you wanted?" The woman stepped around the fire to his side. She was tall for a woman, though he still had height on her. "Valhalla, Eric… _That_ is life." She waited then, letting him think before continuing:

"Do you know what I am?"

The man turned back, and as he gazed at her, her warmth suddenly made him feel _so_ vulnerable that tears threatened to surface in his eyes.

He knew indeed what she was—she _was_ real, which meant that their gods really _did_ watch over the earth from the heavens, and heroes really _were_ rewarded for their triumphs.

So it was not too late? Could she take him to where he really wanted to be?

"You're…" he began earnestly.

But he never finished, for then there came a dark blur and deadly snarl on the other side of him.

The woman's light vanished. So did Eric.

In their places flashed something else entirely—two lovers on a bed of fur, basking in a pool of love and bliss. They were in each other's arms, intertwined as one, naked, and very familiar. But no sooner had the two appeared than the vision went out like a flame. There was blackness for a moment, and then came a jarring nudge. It felt physical, startling.

There was another, and a face materialized. A woman, pale as death, was sneering. She snorted in disgust before receding.

"_I think you've made yourself _way_ too comfortable here_."

With a start, Lillian fully came to and sat up, blinking away her sleep. It was Pam who had woken her, and the vampire looked all but deadly, hands on her hips, lips pulled into a scowl. Eric was nowhere in sight, but some humans were readying the club for yet another night.

"Do you often hallucinate?" Pam inquired with disdain. "Because for a while I was tryin' not to laugh…until you started makin' those noises."

"What?" Lilly lifted her hands to her face and quickly rubbed her eyes to try and snap herself completely out of her delusion-laden mind. "I don't hallucinate and I don't make noises." With one final rub, she let her hands drop into her lap and stood up.

"Didn't mean to sleep that long."

"Mm." Pam glowered as she regarded her with increased distaste, then decided to inform the girl: "Before you try to go look for him, Eric is busy in his office and will be for the whole night. Actually, he'll probably be swamped for the next _several_ days now."

The woman was so unhappily jealous that her glare would kill if it were possible. "_That's_ what happens when he takes vacations."

The hunter glanced towards the back hall that led to Eric's office and then looked back at the angry vampire before her.

"I'm sorry, Pam, but if you're trying to get me to feel bad, I won't." She wasn't trying to be snappy or fresh, but it was the truth. "It was really nice not having to do anything for a few days, and I could be wrong but I think he enjoyed himself."

"Of course he did," Pam agreed, to Lilly's surprise. "Eric likes to have a regular every now and then, available on his every whim." The vampire took an intimidating step towards her, eyes flashing. "Only at times he forgets to invite others in on a fun… Those that are entitled to it just as much as he is."

"Really? _Entitlement—_What an interesting idea, but I really don't see how these _others_ you're talking about would have any entitlement in the fun in this particular case," Lillian replied, with a flinty look in her own gaze. "In fact, if they did think that they had it, I would suggest they rethink it fairly quickly."

Pam took another step towards her. "Is that so?"

Lilly didn't back down and stood her ground, staring at the vampire square in the face. "Don't play this game, Pam. It won't fly and you _know_ it won't end well."

"We'll just see about that…" Pam smiled slyly, and with their eyes locked, forced her influence over the girl, making her yield.

Lillian's face slowly fell…and she couldn't look away.

"Sit back down," Pam requested of her. "Take off your jacket."

Slowly, the girl turned and sat down onto the bench. Her eyes never leaving Pam's, she shrugged out of her jacket and held it on her lap.

"Good."

In one fluid motion, the vampire was right beside Lilly. She raised a finger to her neck, stroked it, felt the pulse beneath. "Now let's find out what the fuss's all about…" Pam purred, and her fangs clicked into place.

Lilly sat there limply, staring off ahead of her as Pam lowered her mouth towards her neck.

When the vampire was about an inch away, however, the hunter spun and, in one fluid motion hit the heel of her hand into Pam's chin.

Lilly slammed her mouth shut and drove her fangs though her lower lip. With her other hand, she grabbed Pam by the throat and shoved her back into the bench.

"_Never_ touch me again, Pam. This is your final warning."

Knowing better than to test the levels of the vampire's surprise, Lillian quickly let go of her and grabbed her jacket from where it had fallen to the floor. The other humans in the room were all staring. She ignored them and started walking to the bathroom.

Pam had sprung up after her, but stun managed to just barely hold the vampire back—her glamour hadn't _worked_? How in hell did the human manage to surpass it?

"You little _bitch_!"

The cuts in Pam's lip quickly healed, though her fangs grew sharper, and just before Lilly reached the bathroom's door, the vampire appeared before her. She grabbed the hunter by the collar and spun her round, slamming her hard against the wall, seizing her vision with stars.

If her glamour wouldn't work, then Pam would just take her blood by force.

"You're gonna pay, sweetheart." Now she was far deadlier-looking than ever. "When I'm done with you…m'fraid Eric won't have much left…"

But as Pam lunged for Lillian's neck, through the daze in her eyes, the hunter saw a sudden blur behind her. Eric appeared just in time, before Pam's fangs plunged into his human's thudding vein. He yanked her right off, growled at his progeny.

"You dare to disobey me, Pam?" he demanded.

Pam snarled in her anger, momentarily too upset to even register that she should have backed down before her master. "She provoked me!"

Back against the wall, Lilly lifted a hand to the back of her head where it had struck the wall and watched the two vampires in front her. She blinked to try and clear her gaze.

"And you provoke _me_," said Eric to his progeny, rounding on her. "Had I not said she was mine?"

"_Yours_?" There was something in his tone that alarmed the female vampire, something so different and appalling that for a beat she just stared, baffled. "_Eric, _but—"

He was so enraged that his own fangs glinted dangerously, sharp beneath his lips.

He was riled over a human? A measly _human_? Never before she had seen him this way. Never would she have expected for his obvious attachment to be this great. It was not like him at all.

"But, Eric, she's just like…the rest of them."

"She is not!" he snapped.

For a second, he suddenly realized how he was behaving and took a step back and looked at Lilly. He really _didn't_ ever overreact this way. But she really _wasn't_ like the rest of them. She wasn't like them at all. He saw something more, something much, _much_ more in her…and couldn't even explain it to himself.

"Eric, it's not her fault. I did provoke her," Lilly finally said as she took a step off the wall. She glanced only briefly at Pam before looking back to Eric.

Had she not decided to sleep on the couch, this could have been avoided. She had let her guard down on enemy territory and she knew how jealous Pam felt. That in itself was a provocation, even if she didn't mean to.

Eric heard his human but turned back to his progeny, as he took Lilly by the arm and held her behind him.

"Pam," he forced himself calmer now, "you will stay away from each other if you cannot be civil." When Pam appeared as though she would protest, he added firmly, "and she will remain here for as long as I wish."

Still petulant, Pam crossed her arms over her pink blazer and scoffed. "What, she your companion now? Eric, what's gotten into you?"

But Eric turned, disregarding her now, and started with Lillian to his office.

"Have you become friends with Bill Compton all of a sudden?" she called in Swedish. "You have, haven't you?" She sneered bitterly, before trudging the opposite way. "I'm gonna have a little word with Compton…"

Lillian was quiet as she stepped into Eric's office, feeling like an errant child. When he shut the door behind them, she couldn't hold back her grimace.

"Maybe I should find somewhere else to stay, Eric. This really isn't Pam's fault." There was a part of her that could hardly blame Pam for the way she acted, though the other half wanted slam her fangs into a wall like a cork in a bottle.

"And before you say something, _no_, it's not okay. This is her home, and I'm invading it."

"No. You've been invited here by _me_," Eric said to Lilly. "And no one defies my word here. Pam just doesn't like…change, but she will just have to get used to you." The man went around his desk, on which were several rather tall piles of folders and papers. He still had a lot of work to do.

"In the mean time, just stay away from her. Later I'll fetch someone to pacify her."

Watching him settle down to work once again, she couldn't help but feel like she was intruding. It was by no means his fault. She didn't want to burden him and, at the same time, she didn't want to sit there quietly staring at the wall.

After pursing her lips, Lilly turned back to the door and opened it.

"You can stay here if you want," Eric told her as he glanced up, before she left. "I'll be here for the rest of the night, but you can help me…" He gave way to a small smirk and gestured to another chair that was beside his desk. "The work will be finished faster and your presence will make it less tedious."

Lilly let the door shut and curiously smiled. "Paperwork?" Slowly, she came around the desk to the chair and sat down. "What can I do?"

Eric pushed a pile towards her, and then picked a folder from his own to review.

"Sort them out for me. They're various complaints, requests, addresses to me..." He proceeded to tell her how to categorize them, showing her what to look for, so that later he'd go over them and decide how to execute what's necessary. There were reports from ten cities and towns his area apparently covered, and each had numerous issues that Eric had to take care of, from vampire-human relations to vampire government matters, which would all later go in a report to the queen of Louisiana.

Normally, Pam was there to help him, but that day Lilly provided a much calmer atmosphere. She absorbed his instruction quickly and proceeded to do what he asked. It was pleasantly relaxing while they worked, revealing a new side to their relationship. Perhaps, he thought, he would start to employ her regularly in his business. Though it would irk Pam more, it would force her to trust the girl.

"And…_marriage_ proposals?" One of Lillian's eyebrow rose, an amused smirk on her face as she lifted the envelope. "From Tiffany in Monroe? She sprayed it with perfume. Should I start a new pile?"

She tried to hold back a laugh.

"Let me have that." Eric took it from her and put it aside without sparing a glance at the letter, though a grimace did made way across his face. "Every now and then some decide to kiss-ass. Pay no attention," he dismissed.

Lilly laughed quietly to herself and continued on through the pile. "I understand now why you don't take vacations. Maybe it was a good thing that ours was cut short."

There was _so_ much to go through, and though they were getting through it at a nice pace, it just seemed like a rather…boring way to spend the night.

"It was the interruptions we had," said Eric. "We could've had a few more days… Pam would've handled things here. Believe it or not, there were more papers—she'd already done some of the work."

"I believe it," Lilly said as she continued to sort. "Do you remember when I said I discovered your last name?"

He looked up at her briefly. "Yes. What about it?"

"Did you ever…regret what happened to you?" She focused on the papers before her as though pretending what she said was as normal as talking about the weather.

Eric stared at her for a long moment, his expression stiffening, and then he looked away. He assumed she meant his turning—he didn't like the suddenness of the inquiry, the unexpected change in topic. He didn't answer right away, and Lilly realized she overstepped her bounds. Though before she was able to apologize, he finally gave a curt:

"No."

He returned his focus on his work, while Lilly paused with her own, watching him. "No, I do not," he told her. "I was able to live."

"But what about…Valhalla?" she asked him softly.

He stopped completely and turned to her fully. He searched her face for a motive to her questioning. When he couldn't discern it, his tone began to fill with caution.

"Valhalla does not exist. Why are you asking me this?"

"I just… I don't know. I was curious." She shrugged and went back to her sorting, though her face didn't relax.

"Centuries have passed in my life, and my beliefs have long changed," Eric explained to Lilly. There was a grim note in his voice. "I don't believe in anything now."

"Nothing?" she repeated as she looked back at him. "What if you had been given a different option?"

"There were no other options. It was Godric or death. I did not hesitate with my decision."

"And you believed that death was the end then?"

Eric hesitated. "I believed many things then, as we all did, but later I learned there was nothing beyond. I was human," he said, as if that was supposed to explain it all. "Humans have always believed in things that did not exist."

"Many humans believed in vampires before they came out, and they exist. Why would Valhalla not exist?"

Lilly should've stopped, but she couldn't get it out of her head, and not only that—the _way_ he was discussing human beliefs as though they were petty annoyed her. And Eric felt his own irritation make way, coating his tone, darkening his eyes.

"I have never found proof of Valhalla. Have you found any evidence of your heaven?" he challenged. "Or angels? Or of a God?"

"I never claimed to believe in heaven or angels. Why would I?" she snapped back, didn't back down. "Why would you get so upset about me asking you this if you didn't at one point believe in her—_it_?"

"Her? What are you talking about?" demanded the man. He looked like he was about to spring out of his chair.

"I meant _it_," she replied quickly, tensing.

"Lillian, this conversation will end now," Eric said dismissively and firmly, before this escalated and his aggravation grew into anger. "Don't ask me such things again, unless you want a fight between us," he warned.

"Fine," she said, and returned to the paperwork, angrily glaring at it.

How was she supposed to trust and feel for him when he always made her feel like anything in his past was off limits? A person's past made them who they were.

Eric sat heated for a long while, stewing in his steam. Now wasn't the time and place to speak about his past. Ever since Godric's death, it had been a difficult subject for him, and Lilly should've known this. It was hard enough opening up to her that first time, after they returned from Dallas, and it wasn't any easier now. So to prevent a greater conflict, for both their sakes, Eric wanted to speak no more of it.

They resumed working in tense silence, and part of him began to steadily feel guilty. But he quickly cleared his throat and forced himself to focus on his papers. The guilt retracted and in its place crept bitterness. Lilly had to know where to not cross the line.

This had been their first fight.

* * *

"Night, Sam," Sookie said a with a smile as she took off her apron and draped it over her arm. "I'll be in a little early tomorrow to try an' make up some of those missed hours, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, s'fine," the man said a little distractedly. He meticulously went over the legal pad and several other papers before him as he sat in the booth closest to the kitchen's entrance.

Sookie watched him for a moment, pursed her lips in thought and looked like she was going to say something. Then she thought better of it and turned to leave. Sam didn't notice her stewing, and never looked up, even as she left.

On the list was an assortment of numbers and other figures, but even though he was staring at them, Sam wasn't actually concentrating, much like his mind was drifting elsewhere, lost in deep, wandering thoughts. Tara and Arlene didn't receive much recognition from him either. Nor the last few drunk patrons who ambled on out of there. Lafayette turned off the lights in the kitchen, casting the entire bar in a dimmer glow, and paused briefly to eye his boss.

"White boys an' der seri'usness."

Sam only answered, "Mm."

Then the Bar's outside sign went out.

The parking lot emptied.

He didn't know how long he sat there attempting the inventory, but he didn't even notice his last and final customer come in. After all, the place was supposed to be completely closed. The door hadn't been locked yet, so that's how she got in.

Marylin looked around, at first not noticing Sam because of how still he sat, hunched over papers there in the booth, balancing a pen between his index and thumb fingers. It hung loosely but didn't fall. The back of the bench casted a shadow on him, too. He appeared busy so the woman approached with caution.

"Hey… Is this a bad time?" Her soft voice managed to stir the air and somehow wake him from his concentrated reverie.

With a double take, Sam looked up and immediately set his pen down, though it was more of an awkward drop.

"Oh, hey," he started with a grin, immediately pushing himself up to his feet. "I didn't hear you come in." The pen promptly rolled to the edge of the table and though he saw it just as it was about to fall, he wasn't fast enough. It clattered onto the floor and rolled under the table.

"You want something to drink?" he asked, gesturing towards the bar.

Marylin looked but shook her head and smiled coyly.

"No, I'm good, but thank you… I didn't come here for a drink, I know that you're closed. I just wanted to stop by and say hi… I know I ran off quick this morning, and you had to witness that," she made a gesture with her hand, rolled her eyes, chuckled, "crazy family reunion of mine."

He raised his hand to idly scratch the back of his head and said with an awkward grin: "That's what families for right?" His shaggy brown hair tangled easily around his fingers. One point caught under a fingernail making him tug it loose with a small glare.

"So... where they at? Staying in town?"

Marylin nodded. She looked almost anxious, spoke rather rapidly. At least she wasn't depressed anymore, though.

"At the Inn, too. They wouldn't have it any other way since it still has those Magic Fingers from the '70s. Know they left you quite a hefty bill."

"I'm not too worried about it," Sam replied with a grin. "I think I can handle a meal or two."

Blushing slightly, she glanced between them, at a spot on the floor she saw entirely past. Ketchup stain, maybe alcohol (beer or whiskey?) on the old, worn wood. A moment of silence passed between the man and woman. Sam watched her intently and wondered what she was thinking. There arose a soft look in his eyes. The corners of his mouth stayed curled upwards. And Marylin felt his gaze on her without needing to confirm.

Slowly, she raised her own eyes again and said, "Since you were busy, why don't I just go." Even though she just got there.

"Oh—well, yeah, sure, I mean you could, but why don't you stay for a little while?" he offered with a small shrug. "It's no big deal."

She couldn't help but smile. "I don't want to pull you away from any important business…"

The man reached back and grabbed the pad of paper to close it and shrugged with what he hoped was an innocent expression. "What business?"

Marylin raised her brow. A giggle escape from between her lips. And she proceeded to the bar where she took a seat on one of the stools and watched him go around the counter. He hid the papers in a drawer and then opened the fridge.

Leaning forward on her elbows, she requested: "Then may I get a glass on tap? I've reconsidered."

"I think that can be arranged," he said with his back to her. "And what do you want?" The man grabbed an old rag and tossed it over his shoulder as he leaned down to grab a frosted glass from the cooler.

"Bud is good enough."

"Comin' right up." Sam shot her another grin as he placed the frosted glass beneath the spout and pulled the handle to fill it with a frothy brew. Marylin watched the liquid crawl up the glass and asked:

"So beside my cousins coming in here and doing the damage that they did, how did today go? Was there any more questioning about your vacation?"

"Eh, they got bored asking about it pretty fast," Sam said with a shrug, which wasn't completely true. He still got suspicious, knowing looks throughout the day. He gave her the glass and then got a bottle from the fridge himself, popped the top.

She took a sip and said, "Good. The less questions the better. They don't need to know how far I had dragged you. And you probably want to forget it anyway…"

Sam came around the bar and took a seat on the stool beside her. "It wasn't...all bad."

Marylin scoffed. "What parts?" And she swallowed another swig. Oh, how the beer was refreshing, and calming. Something she _had_ needed after all. Nothing like the tap.

"Well, the drive wasn't too bad," he offered.

She smiled ruefully and stared into the froth. Her smile waned.

"I promise I won't drag you anywhere again. Actually I probably won't be dragging myself anywhere either. I'll…stay here for a while, take a break," she informed him.

"Really?" He couldn't keep a small grin from his face. "Think you can handle it? Bon Temps is... well, it's not that big a place."

Marylin turned her head look at him, noticed how close they were actually sitting, how close their faces were. She noticed how his eyes twinkled from the little light at the back of the bar. Her eyes drifted to Sam's mouth, his stubbly chin and cheeks. She swallowed and her voice softened a smidge.

"Small is good. I want to stay put in one place for a little while. And with Lillian gone…" She sighed. "The twins will stay for a few days, too, but I doubt they'd want to stay with me here, so in the end I don't have anywhere else to go."

"You're just gonna stay at the hotel all that time?" Clearly the idea wasn't a positive one to him. "What about your hunting?"

"Eh, I think the hunt we went on was enough for both of us," she said. "Don't you think?"

"Well for me, yeah, I like the steady pace, but ,uh... you've been kinda doing this for a while, haven't you?"

She nodded.

Her thumbs drew on the dew as she held her glass on the counter. She looked away from him to stare at her little designs. Hunting _was_ all she knew, in the end. Hunting was all she thought about for years. Her life surrounded it. Her life's goal was aimed at it, for Chrissake! Her mission. Lilly's mission—at least that's what it had been. It certainly was the twins'. To help those in need, to protect the oblivious civilians, risk themselves for the good of mankind, stop at nothing to fight for good. Keep the supernatural world from leaking out. Etcetera.

If in her mind she was saying etcetera, then clearly there was an issue.

She grew thoughtful and spoke her sudden reflections.

"You know how most people have those moments in their lives, sooner or later…after doing the same thing over and over. Granted usually it's a mundane existence that they became aware of. But they realize it, and the longer they think about it the more it seems like maybe they just…" she shook her head, still stared at her glass. "Maybe they just went too long at it and should've done something about it a while ago, maybe years ago. Made a change. Stopped doing what they've been doing because it _had_ made their lives more miserable. They _were _becoming steadily exhausted, sick of it, they just denied it the whole time because it was routine. They thought they should keep doing it because it had been right in the beginning. It _was_. But everything has a limit, everything has its—"

Then she suddenly stopped and realized she was rambling. She chuckled faintly.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying."

"No, no, go on," he encouraged with a lopsided smile. "Seriously, I know what you mean." He picked up his bottle to take a quick sip of it. "If you really mean to stay—you're gonna need a job and, we could always use the help around here if you're willin'. I know Tara gave a hard time earlier today. It was just a bit of a short notice because the shift already started. But I gave it some thought after ya left, and…you could start tomorrow if you wanted!"

She turned back to him, pleasantly surprised. "Really? I guess I would need a job, wouldn't I? I haven't had a real one in a while-"

Just then she felt her stomach growl in hunger and thought Sam heard it. She blushed out of embarrassment and cleared her throat.

"You didn't hear that did you?" she asked.

The knowing smile on Sam's face was answer enough.

"Tell you what," he asked as his smile morphed into a smirk. "Why don't we discuss business over some food? There's a pretty good pizza place in the town over. My treat."

Marylin smirked herself. Her cheeks grew redder. She again did that giggle he found so endearing and lowered her gray gaze between them out of sudden diffidence. Her stomach groaned again.

"I forgot about having dinner," she said as she stood up to go, let go of her glass, which had 1/3 left. Oh, well. "The boys and me were catching up and they were telling me about the hunts they had, and Luke—he's the one who looks like the trouble maker, he can talk you up so much that you forget simple bodily needs."

"Well, allow me to take care of this one," Sam said with a smile as he leaned across the bar to get his truck keys. He twirled them once around his finger. "Let's go."

Then he placed his hand on the small of her back, but only briefly, and led her out the door, which he _did _finally lock.

* * *

The pizza was good. No, it was great. It was so great that just a little over half an hour later, Marylin found herself having seconds and thirds and fourths, it was so delicious. She was ravenous. The cheese was melted perfectly, delicately stringy, the sauce was rich and spiced ideally, the pepperoni, mushrooms, and green peppers were all roasted to perfection, the outer corners golden. And the smell, the warm aroma that rose! Mouth watering, stomach-turning. Ficker-licking goodness.

The place itself was shabby—where she and Sam sat inside. A little shack type thing with grimy windows and creaky floorboards. This was Louisiana, after all. But that Cajun chef was a master with his secret ingredients and special recipes. Sam had the Cajun pizza and let Marylin have a slice. She _mmm_'d and laughed as cheese strings stuck to her chin and quickly wiped them away.

She said on regards to their little business deal:

"So you'd actually hire me as one of your waitress'? You believe in me, Sam Merlotte?"

"What's there not to believe in?" he asked as he idly folded a paper napkin between his fingers, leaning on his elbows. "I've seen what you can handle and after that...what's a few drunks?"

"Who by the way are the best kind of witnesses to question," she laughed.

"Exactly, you should add them to your resume." Sam reached forward and picked off a piece of meat from the top of his pizza before popping it in his mouth.

The banter continued between them, friendly at all times and teasingly at others, but the nice thing about it was that it was never awkward. The pizza helped, and now that they were future co-workers—rather he was her boss. The idea, something as normal as waitressing at a bar and grill for a friend, was…exciting for her. She could give a go at small town life for a bit. For once not dig for skeletons in anyone's closet. She could not worry about saving anyone's life, not look for any supernatural creatures to drive back into the darkness and smite. She could stay out of it, take a chance to breathe! She was exhausted. She was human, after all. She deserved a break—that's what she kept telling herself so as not to feel guilty.

She needed to heal. She could have an actual vacation.

After she and Sam were finished with their late night meal—indeed it was nearing 1 o'clock in the morning—they left the joint with their hands on their bellies, both laughing out of a mutual unexplained mirth. They looked at each other, not knowing why it was so relieving, so nice. Just a simple outing. Not even an official date or anything.

The air was muggy as usual and it looked like it was going to rain, because the moon wasn't showing, but they still felt a unique liveliness, as if they were reenergized, as if talking about making a turn in their lives, a one-eighty to relieve themselves of routine and mundane, was actually granted.

Maybe it really was. The two of them walked to the car, the only one in the old, cracked parking lot.

"Maybe you should steal Papa Louie's recipes and put them on your own menu," said Marylin. Papa Louie was the cook who had made their wonderful pizzas, even though they had been his last customers (the big Cajun was a good friend of Sam's). "Then you'll have people from here flocking," here being Monroe.

"Yeah, and if I do that then I might find my head in an oven, courtesy of Louie," Sam joked as he started up his truck. "What's wrong with the food I got?" he asked with mock pride in his voice. "You saying we have to spice up the menu?"

Marylin had settled in her seat and made herself comfortable in the cushions, leaned her head back because she felt both nicely sated and sleepy, and also buzzed from the more beer she had. She yawned and her eyes drifted a bit.

"No, Sammy," she said, smiling. "I was only kidding. But maybe since I'll be working there from now on, you could create a special in my honor: "Marylin's….something.""

She returned her head and regarded him. Her eyes looked sultry from the way they were narrowed—narrowed to keep awake, that is.

"I want you to do it, Sammy," and then she playfully poked him.

"Oh, yeah?" Grinning, he glanced at her only briefly as he half-heartedly fended off her attack and pulled onto the road. "We might be able to do something like that, but you've gotta earn it. My place isn't some Denny's."

"I'll be the best waitress you've ever hired!"

Little did Marylin know that Merlotte's had an incredibly poor track record with keeping waitresses. New ones always had something happen to them.

In her fatigue and partial inebriation, the woman leaned off her chair to fix her jean pant—her boot had caught it. And then she noticed out of the corner of her eye the digit numbers on the radio blink on and off.

Strange. Sam's truck was probably older than she thought.

She swayed slightly into Sam on leaning back but purposefully didn't look at him.

"But, Sam, I think you might be an entirely clueless boss," she suddenly said sadly, disappointedly.

"How am I clueless? I'm a very... attentive boss." Sam glanced over at her before looking back at the road ahead of them. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought that by now you'd—I don't know. Never mind."

They came to a stop at an empty intersection. Their car was the only there but they had to wait until the light turned green. And it was one of those red lights that liked to take a long while.

Above them outside, the street lamps gave a flicker.

Sam's smile flickered similarly. "I'd do what?"

Either he was clueless or he knew what she meant. He was just trying to avoid it. Which true, but there was a reason behind it. The man let out a breath and began:

"Marylin, I—"

She interrupted him. He suddenly felt like an asshole.

"No, no, don't worry about it. Never mind. Forget it," she repeated. Maybe _she_ was just delusional.

As they stood there at the light, which still remained red, Sam unexpectedly turned to her in his seat, suddenly serious, suddenly all of the puppy-dog happy air that had been about him gone. He frowned slightly instead, tilted his head, feeling bad. But he wanted to explain himself:

"Marylin, I…" He swallowed. She slowly drifted her eyes to meet his own. Now the awkwardness was back. "Marylin, I wanna," he assured her, his voice quiet and husky. "I did want to—kiss you…again. I, uh," now he chuckled and touched the back of his head. "I still do."

Marylin gave a small scoff for bringing this on herself. She shouldn't have said anything.

"Normally I would…right about now. But I know you went through a lot this past week. Hell, we just got back yesterday, and you wanted to be alone. I thought you did… So thought I'd give you some space until you felt better."

She was silent, listened, her expression deadpan. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, let alone if she'd yell at him or start crying.

"I'm not the kind of guy who'd take advantage of a girl at these kinds of times in her life."

"Oh, Sam, it wouldn't be taking advantage," she said softly. "You don't have a bone in you equipped for that."

He furrowed his brow, begged to differ. He wasn't an angel.

"I'd still feel like an asshole, Marylin." He lifted a hand and reached towards her face. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, then tucked her hair behind her ear. "Because I care about you. I like you a lot."

She didn't answer him. She was too tired to argue. She didn't want to hold his gaze either.

The lights above them flickered yet again.

"So I just thought we'd take it slow…" He saw her disappointment. He still felt bad. So then he leaned towards her altogether, to place a kiss on her forehead. His stubble tickled her skin. She glanced up at him—his face was so close. His eyes twinkled in that way again. He gave her a small smile. Genuine, of course. Sam was always genuine in her eyes.

"So nothing screws it up." His thumb gave a stroke to her cheek.

She understood what he meant. His concern, his hesitation. It was because of who he was. And she knew of the complete betrayal Daphne had thrown him, even though that was a while ago. He was just a gentleman and that's why he didn't mention too. But it also was a factor. How could it not be?

Marylin furrowed her eyebrows and lowered her gaze. "Yeah, I think it's a—"

Another car honked behind them. The light had been green for several seconds, while they stood talking. The car honked again, evidently impatient. So Sam took his hand back and resettled himself in his seat.

"Settle down. We're goin', we're—"

But then the car just floored its gas and served to get around them altogether. The teenage driver flipped them off on his way and sped across the intersection in his sleek black SUV.

Sam shook his head and drove after at a much careful speed. "Spoiled young folk!"

Marylin resituated in her own seat and agreed. "Driving their daddies' cars."

The man looked over at her and chuckled. She smiled only slightly, so then he made another move and put his hand over hers.

"Before that jerk interrupted us, I, uh—I want you to know that I meant what I said."

She gave a small nod but didn't look at their hands. His larger one gave off a pleasant warmth, there between their seats.

But before she could say anything. Before she could so much as sigh in partial relief, just knowing that she had a support beside her, to make her feel better—romantic or not—there came a screech to the right of the car. Her right.

The screech of tires.

A bright light shone in her window then. And, in the mere couple of seconds that followed, this is all that she recalled:

The light of the radio's digits (even though the radio was off) rippled as if the car battery was draining. Even the headlights of their own car flickered. Sam yelled—he swore. His hands violently jerked the stirring wheel out of the corner of her eye. But he couldn't move out of the way. It had all been too unexpected.

Another vehicle rammed straight into his truck in a t-bone. It had flown across the dark road out of absolutely nowhere. It was another truck, but a younger one with more power to the engine.

So Marylin's world had gone immediately dark.

This tidbit she _didn't_ remember: the driver, a middle-aged man, had black eyes. And he stared across the steaming, choatic wreckage with absolute no emotion.


	18. Cross Road Blues

I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees  
I went to the crossroad, fell down on my knees  
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please"

Yeoo, standin' at the crossroad, tried to flag a ride  
Ooo eeee, I tried to flag a ride  
Didn't nobody seem to know me, babe, everybody pass me by

Standin' at the crossroad, baby, risin' sun goin' down  
Standin' at the crossroad, baby, eee, eee, risin' sun goin' down  
I believe to my soul, now, poor Bob is sinkin' down

~Robert Johnson

. . .

The paramedics just finished strapping Marylin's prone form to the gurney and were now quickly loading her up into the back of the ambulance.

"Shreveport," one of the EMTs said quickly and slammed the door shut.

As the truck peeled out, cops and the other EMTs from the second ambulance swarmed around him, asking him questions and poking him to try and gauge the extent of his injuries, but to Sam they just drifted. He shook his head, numbly gave one word answers, narrowed his eyes in bewilderment and stared ahead. Then he gathered some resolve from the glistening wet asphalt and slowly headed over to the vehicle that had crashed into his car.

The driver was covered on the side of the road with a white sheet. Dead. Sam heard an EMT say the man died from a heart attack. And almost right after, too? Merlotte didn't buy it. Bypassing the body, the man crept closer to the car.

Nothing prepared him for the strange smell that greeted him inside. It smelled like rotten eggs. Only upon further inspection did he see the powder on the floor of the car. Though may have just looked like weird dirt to other people, maybe ash, Sam knew it to actually be sulfur. Confused, he then hurriedly made his way back to his own car where he found Marylin's cell phone wedged in between the seat and center console. It still worked.

"Lillian…" He quickly found the girl's number in the contacts and called her.

Back at _Fangtasia_, there had been few words between Lillian and Eric the rest of the night, but she had continued helping him. After all, it was partially her fault for him being so behind. Rather than take up space at his desk, however, she'd pulled the chair over to a large filing cabinet at the side of his office and set up shop there. It also meant she wouldn't have to look at him. Lingering frustration was mutual.

The silence was broken when her cell phone went off. Curious after seeing who it was, she softly answered with a small sigh, "Hey." She kept her voice down so as not to disturb her grumpy vampire.

"Lillian, it's not Marylin, it's Sam." The words were rushed and she could hear his panic.

"Sam, what's wrong? Where is she?"

His words spat out as quickly as his mouth could move, making the girl sit there in stun. The crash—which had to be intentional. The heart-attack-stricken driver. The sulfur. It only took a moment for the hunter in Lilly to take over.

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

She snapped her phone shut, pocketed it, and grabbed her jacket to make for the door.

"Eric, I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

Eric tensed in his chair and briskly asked, "Where?"

"Marylin's in the hospital and I think a demon is behind it."

Although alarm did cross his face, Eric didn't stop her. Instead, he called for Chow and ordered the loyal Chinaman to go after her. When he arrived in a flash, the hunter spun around in the hallway and glared at the plump vampire.

"I'm not really the ordering type, but you are _staying here_." The blonde pulled on her jacket, never looked away from him. "I don't care what your boss says right at the moment, I'm sorry to say, but no thank you. I can handle myself. This is my business anyway. Now, excuse me."

Chow went after her still, taking heavy strides behind her.

"What Eric says goes. You should know that by now," he said, and then with dark glee added. "Plus, I love hospitals."

They hurriedly bypassed the club's line—and Pam, who smiled upon seeing Lilly finally leaving. There was a light drizzle in the night.

"Chow, where are _you_ going?"

"Boss told me to go with her, watch her," Chow answered Pam.

"Have fun babysitting."

Chow tossed her a scowl.

Meanwhile, Lilly had ignored both vampires and got into the Mustang as fast as she could. In a matter of seconds, she locked all the doors, turned on the engine, and floored it down the road before Chow could even get in. She didn't have time to deal with a tag-a-long.

Of course, by the time she got to the hospital, Chow was already there. Lillian went straight past him (he only _hmph'_ed), and, after finding out which room Marylin was in, she went straight there. All of her anger at the vampires flew out of her mind when she saw Marylin, lying there in the bed.

* * *

_A short while later..._

"_Christ! Marylin—!_"

Lilly looked up and total shock suffused her face.

The twins both rushed into the room, horror on their own faces. They saw Marylin, who was out cold and pale as death, with pulse so slow that she seemed almost near it. She was badly injured—a broken shoulder and elbow, even a broken leg. Half of her face was blue and swollen… It was a miracle that she was holding on, for Sam told them what happened. The car crash had been terrible. The man had some bruises of his own, but he wasn't in nearly as bad of a state as Marylin was.

Lilly's presence only added to Luke and Joshua's astonishment, though they were utterly relieved to see her.

Luke went round the bed to the girl. "We-we thought you were gone!"

Lilly immediately launched herself into his arms. "What are you doing here?" she asked in a muffled voice from his chest.

Joshua saw her, but he couldn't get himself to smile. He went to the chart at the end of Marylin's bed and picked it up to look it over. Luke held Lilly her at an arm's length.

"Mar called us before, but we were finishing up a hunt in Cali. Then we headed straight here, arrived just yesterday. What the hell happened?" The boy looked at his cousin and stepped towards her, blanching. "Was that prick drinking?"

He and his brother didn't formally meet Sam, but Luke already began to dislike him. He was the only one who had been with Marylin.

"I don't know, he just called me last night, so I came as soon as I heard," she said, turned to look at her friend, her _sister_. Tenderly, she brushed some hair away from Marylin's face.

"We just saw her yesterday…" Joshua said from the end of the bed. Lilly walked around it and quickly hugged him as well. She left her arm wrapped around his waist as they studied Marylin.

"I'm not so certain that this had to do with Sam drinking, if he even did. He mentioned that he found sulfur in the car that hit them… You know what that means."

"Sulfur?" The brothers exchanged looks.

"So it was a fucking demon? Was she hunting one before?" asked Luke. "Mar didn't tell us anything."

"_Excuse me_."

Marylin's doctor came into the room. With a kind smile, she reached for the chart in Joshua's hands. The woman had thick, wavy dark brown hair that was pulled back in a rather plain ponytail. But her hazel eyes remained warm despite the gray atmosphere. She had a soft huskiness to the accent in her voice.

"Are you family?" she asked.

"Yeah, we are," answered Luke somewhat gruffly in his vexation. "Cousins." He wasn't sure what name Marylin had on her insurance card. "I'm Luke Gold, and this is my brother and sister. Will Mar be alright?"

"She's suffered an incredible amount to her righ' side as you can see," the doctor said truthfully. "But I can already tell that she's a fighter, so you shouldn't lose hope." Pulling a pen from her pocket, she looked to the machine and jotted down some numbers.

"Dr. O'Connell," Lilly spoke up. "Can you please tell us more? All we can see are her bruises and casts… it's hard to not lose hope."

The doctor sighed and looked at all of them respectively.

"She's stable at the moment, and that's the important thing to remember. I know it's scary, her not bein' awake, but keep in mind that it could be good for her."

"How? Some people don't come out of comas," Josh asked.

The doctor looked over at him and nodded. "That's true, some don't, but this is also giving her body time to heal some of her more extensive injuries before she wakes."

The bite in Luke's voice grew suddenly.

"Where's the other prick? The other guy that was with her? What room's he in?" He was going to talk to talk to Sam, to interrogate him some more, even if it wasn't his fault.

Dr. O'Connell blinked in confusion. "I'm sorry?" She shook her head. "I think it would be best if you stayed here, Mr. Gold."

"Luke, please. Don't do this right now," Josh told his brother in a hissed tone, while Lillian moved around the bed to sit back down in the chair that she'd previously vacated. With his way blocked, Luke's jaw clenched slightly, then he looked back to the doctor.

"When are you releasing him then? He can't be knocked up as bad as her."

Lilly sighed as Luke argued with the doctor. Out of love and concern of course. Joshua tried to placate his brother. So Lilly looked past them to the door—for her gaze had been drawn to a dark-haired man that had been standing there the whole time. At first, she thought he was just a curious passerby who had heard Luke's loud voice from the hall, but then she saw that he apparently wasn't leaving. The man stood at the doorway and looked in with blue eyes that were so unreadable that she was partially startled by them, especially when he fixed his attention on her.

Clad in suit and trench coat, he was rather out of place. He had raven-haired, wind-swept hair. He might have been an agent of some sort, but he didn't produce a badge or let himself be known. In fact, no one else but Lilly noticed him, and for some reason she was too speechless to call attention to him.

His eyes slowly narrowed on the girl, not hostile but serene, and she steadily relaxed as if solely by his _will_… But he wasn't a vampire. It was day. When she was first to glance away, and then look back, he was gone.

Lillian stood up from her chair and went to the door to try and find the man. Doctors busily passed, nurses wheeling other patients, concerned family members of others. Perhaps the man in the trench coat was a professional escape artist—he just swept away along with the hospital staff around the corner. In a matter of seconds. Or he quite literally disappeared into thin air.

Turning back to the others, Lilly looked to see if they had seen him, but it was obvious they hadn't.

"I know it's hard, Mr. Gold," the doctor said again to Luke, "but know that I'll do everythin' I can to make sure Marylin comes though this. Now, though, she's not sleeping exactly, I think we should probably keep it down a little." She smiled gently at the three. "I'll be back in a little while to check up on her."

Then with a final nod, she turned and left the room.

Luke muttered something uncouth under his breath, thankfully unheard by the woman, and stalked to the window. There he glared out into the parking lot and marshy landscape behind it.

The sky was cloudy and foreboding. It promised even more rain than before. The trio was left only to wait and stay by Marylin's side… If only Scott knew. He was the only one that was missing from their reunited group, but even as the brothers called him, Scott didn't answer (because of he had no service), completely oblivious where he was. There in the Virginia woods, he stewed in his bitter anger with a concerned father there to monitor him.

* * *

_Another little while later..._

Because he was nowhere near as injured as Marylin, Sam appeared the following evening with some flowers in his hands. Thankfully, neither of the twins were there yet, being that they had decided to go and investigate the crash site earlier that day. Lillian _was_ there, however, and stood up when she saw him enter.

"Lillian… I," the man stopped, not sure what to say. The girl came forward to take the flowers from him.

"Thank you for calling me, Sam. I never had a chance to say that before."

Sam nodded and looked over at the injured hunter. He ran a distressed hand through his hair, let out a heavy breath.

"I didn't see it coming."

"We don't think it was you that was responsible, Sam, so don't let that bother you."

"But if it wasn'… Why would someone do that?" Merlotte looked so confused, tried so hard to make sense at least some sense out of it, Lilly thought he was on the edge of guilt-ridden panic. But _she_ didn't answer.

"It wasn't a someone, it was an _it_," clarified Luke at length, who walked in before his brother. Lilly sighed—she had jinxed their luck. Sam had come at an opportune time, finally out of bed and on his feet. Josh closed the door, leaving a small crack, as Luke lowered his voice but proceeded to interrogate Sam.

"You said you found sulfur in the other car. That means it was a demon that did it. Did you see any black smoke?"

Sam let down his hand from his head and crossed his arms. "Smoke?" He drew his eyebrows and answered, "No… We both blacked out when it hit."

Rising to make sure nothing got out of hand, Lillian went to stand near the end of Marylin's bed, poised and ready to intercede if she needed to.

"How did you know it was sulfur in the car?" Joshua asked, his eyes narrowed in speculation.

"I know that smell. It's like rotten eggs," Sam answered confidently.

Luke looked away a moment, expression contorted tensely while he thought for a second or two. "Yeah, that's right. Where were you two driving from?" he questioned next.

"I took her to dinner. To, uh, this one place in Monroe… We were heading back to Bon Temps," Sam cautiously. He was already starting to get annoyed with the twenty questions game.

"So you two were seeing each other?" Luke then assumed, glancing briefly at his cousin. "She never told us."

"Yeah, we'll it's sort of new. And we're all adults here, aren't we?" Annoyed, Sam decided he no longer wanted to be here. He understood their anxiety, but he didn't like being treated like a criminal. "I'll just check in on her a little later," the man said as he headed to the door but then looked back at Lillian. "Let me know if something changes with her."

And with that he was gone.

"Very nice, boys," Lilly commented with a roll of her eyes.

"Marylin and _him_?" Luke reiterated disdainfully to the girl. "She went off and found…some _hick_?" Both she and Joshua gave him a reproving look, but he then just scoffed and stalked off to his cousin's side. Yet her blank expression gave him no answer.

* * *

As Sam strode to the waiting room down the hall, maneuvering around patients and busy nurses with gurneys and wheelchairs, the man nearly passed the reception desk when he saw a familiar blonde and her beau standing before it and pestering the attendant. They were inquiring about Marylin and Sam, only to discover that only family could visit the former, but the latter had been released…and _there_ he was. Bill had been first to turn upon sensing Sam's approach.

Sookie gasped with relief as she saw him, gave him a hug, and then looked him over, taking note of his minor bruises. She asked about Marylin, and gasped some more as Sam recited the conditions of her state, and when he finished, she glanced to Bill with profound worry.

"Oh, God, Sam, Bill and I were so worried. An' everyone back at Merlotte's… I wish you'd called sooner!"

"I know I should have," Sam admitted with a smile. It morphed into an uncertain one when he looked over at Bill. The vampire didn't to acknowledge it.

"What is important is that you are okay, Sam," he said with a slight nod, his hand on the small of Sookie's back.

"Thank you," Sam replied. "But I think it's best if you both leave."

"Why?" Sookie asked. He told her about the hunters, mostly Luke and Joshua, and hinted how the former might've best to avoid, for Bill's sake.

"Oh, well okay then… Maybe I'll come by again tomorrow durin' the day," said Sookie. "Are you going to go?"

"Yeah… I have to get back to _Merlotte_'s," he used as an excuse. "Maybe…if you're heading back, I could get a ride with you?"

"_Sookie_?"

Lillian appeared a little further up the hall, looked a little tired, but healthy. "You both came?" she smiled faintly at them.

Sookie brightened when she saw her. She noticed her fatigue, and though it might've been just that, the Stackhouse concerned still. She went to Lillian with dainty _click-clocks_ of her dainty little heals. They matched her sundress.

"Lilly, how've you been? It's been such a long while. Are—are you…okay?" Had Lilly left Eric?

Lilly nodded as convincingly as she could and ignored both Sam and Bill who now stood next to each other, watching sternly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just worried about Mar really." Her eyes darted over to the men briefly before back to her friend. "How have you been?"

"I've been good." Sookie grinned and unexpectedly lifted her hand to show her ring, which was a pretty nice-sized rock. It was an heirloom that had been in Bill's family for years, and Sookie just wasn't able to help her giddiness.

"Bill," she whispered excitedly, before glancing at her man, "asked me to marry him!"

"Oh." Lilly tried to force some enthusiasm into her voice. "That's great! I'm so happy for you." She looked over at Bill and saw the stoic look on his face, but when he noticed her looking at him, he immediately gave her a small smile. "I'm sure you'll both be really happy."

"I know it might be early for some, but it's gonna be in a couple weeks," Sookie informed her, and took her friend's hand earnestly. "I hope you'll forgive me for the fight we had last time…because I really want you to be there. And Marylin…an' you can invite your cousins too if they'll be around."

Though she hesitated, Lillian agreed. "I'll be there with bells on."

"Oh, I'm so glad!" Sookie said. "Are you…seeing Eric? Because we heard…"

"I…" Lillian smiled and looked away. She hadn't spoken to him since the night before last when she'd left, but she nodded. "Yeah, I am. We just got back from a vacation actually."

Sookie couldn't find any bite marks on her neck, which relieved her slightly.

"Is everything okay then?" While Bill and Sam started conversing on their own, she and Lilly stepped a little ways away from them. "I know you're smart and careful, Lil," Sookie began once they were out of earshot, despite the fact that Bill could hear what was happening at the very end of the hall. A vampire's hearing stretched a mile wide. But Sookie paid no attention.

"I want you to know that I'm here for you, both me and Bill. If…if you really do like Eric, then I know how you feel," Sookie smiled warmly. "He's not an evil guy, even Bill said so. He's just the sheriff…an' bosses always need to be a certain way." That didn't justify all of Eric's actions, but Sookie supposed that he was a good person deep inside.

"You…probably see what most people don' in him," she presumed. And her words lifted a surprising weight off of Lilly's shoulders.

"Thank you, that really means a lot, and…I really _do_ like him. A lot. There's more to him than what people think. Although, he's frustrating at times. I can't talk to him about certain things and he's so mysterious. I know he would never hurt me, ever, but I don't know… There's this thing…"

"What thing?"

Lillian licked her lips, looked uncertain. She couldn't keep quiet about it anymore. "I've been…having these dreams…"

Sookie kept her voice down and watched as a couple people passed them. "Did he give you his blood?"

"Sookie, he saved my life, even when I tried to stop him because I was afraid he would think I was using him."

Bill had saved Sookie's life too—maybe it was a vampire thing.

"Well, now it just means you two are connected and…he can know where you are, an' how you feel," Sookie explained. She was worried that Lilly hadn't been told everything. "And those dreams," Sookie pulled her away further down the hall, "those intense, maybe even…sexual dreams," she saw Lilly's confirmation. "They're a part of it, too."

"So he knows how I feel," Lilly repeated what stuck out most importantly. And, then, at once anger flared in her. She couldn't help it.

If this was true, then Eric should've noticed how annoyed she'd been during these past few nights. And he'd done nothing, the pompous ass. As if he didn't care. Or—or the man was just thick. He was a vampire after all. A different species. It's been centuries since he was human. Yes, that was it.

Realizing how—truly—poorly tuned to human emotion Eric was, it dawned on her how much she'd have to teach him, make him realize, so she quickly waved that part of the conversation away. That was too much to think about for right now.

"It's not that I mind them… I mean I have the sexual dreams, but… I have something more and it feels so…real." Lillian shook her head again. "It's like I'm—Do you see Bill's past?"

"Bill's past?"

"Yeah, like his human life."

"No… You think you see Eric's? Through your _dreams_?"

Uncomfortable, Lilly stepped away and sat down on a nearby bench by a vending machine.

"I know how it sounds, but it feels so real… and I tried to ask Eric about it and he freaked out. Sookie, I know his real name. I made up the excuse that I'd read it somewhere, but that's not where I heard it from."

Sookie stood before her, looked far more concerned. She glanced to see if Bill was growing impatient, but he and Sam were still talking by the reception, giving the girls some more time to talk.

"What do you mean his real name? His Viking name?" Sookie asked as she turned back to Lilly. "An' you're sure you never heard it before?"

"Where would I have heard it before? He's Eric Northman. No one knows his _real_ name. I told him I must have read it in one of his books or something, but that's not true!" She was starting to look desperate for understanding. "I'm telling you, I've seen so much. At first, I just thought it was a creative dream, but…I've seen so much. I know all about his turning… His beliefs at the time—and there's this woman that's always there."

Lilly was close to babbling from relief that someone was actually _listening_ to her.

"Okay, just try to relax, Lilly. We'll get to the bottom of this," Sookie promised. She sat down beside her friend and looked her in the eye, but Sookie didn't intrude and took her hand instead.

"Can you tell me everythin' that you saw? All that you remember."

"I would—I want to, but… Sookie, if this really _is_ his past, I can't tell you anything." Lillian sighed and lifted her free hand to her eyes, gently tried to rub away the tension. "I'm sorry, but I can't betray his trust like that, even though he doesn't realize it. Maybe I'm just imagining all of it, right? Just creative dreams because I was reading too much? He's got a lot of interesting books. And I always like to read up on folklores."

Sookie shook her head sadly but then smiled in understanding.

"I don't know… But how about this, if you get another dream an' it's a lot more intense, then you call me. It could be your imagination, but it could not. Eric's a thousand years old—his blood could've had a really strong effect on you."

It sounded logical enough. Lillian nodded and stood up. "Thanks. I had to tell someone. I better let you get back to Sam and Bill. They look a little anxious to get out of here."

"_Call_ me," Sookie made her promise. "I'll be in Bon Temps an' you can come get me at home or at work any time."

"I will," Lilly said with a nod and watched as the three left.

As they stepped out the door, the blonde let out another breath and glanced back towards Marylin's room, only to see the trench-coat-wearing man standing outside of it again. Looking in the room. Her stomach clenched. Quickly she started towards him.

"Hey!" she called out.

He heard her. For brief second, slight surprise crossed his face, but then he turned and made down the hall. His swift strides wound carefully around passing people, coat billowing at his legs, while Lilly tried not to bump into anyone and almost did. She quickly apologized to the cranky nurse and caught sight of the man just as he turned a corner.

"No! Wait!" she called out again. "Who are you?"

Lilly tried to dodge around more people and sprint around the corner. When she did, the man was gone. Disappeared just like before. Into Goddamn thin air. The girl ran a hand back through her hair in annoyance. The first time she saw him, she could excuse it for stress, but that was the second time. He _was _stalking them. So she hurried to Marylin's room where the twins still were.

"There's someone that keeps hanging around Mar's room," she said to them. "Some guy in trench coat. I've seen him twice."

"Twice? Why didn't you say anything the first time, Lil?" Joshua asked as he stood up.

"Because I thought I was imagining him the first time. And this time, I went after him."

The remnants of Luke's irritation prompted more audible alarm than his brother. "And? What's he look like?" Luke questioned. "Did you see black smoke?"

Lillian shook her head. "No, there was none of that. He just turned and walked away."

"He didn't say anything?"

"I tried to stop him, but he didn't answer, and when I turned the corner he was gone. He just disappeared."

Joshua frowned and looked over at his brother.

"Shit," Luke swore exasperatedly. "What hell's going on?" He looked at the ceiling and wondered if they could draw a devil's trap in front of the doorway. There were no nurses in sight… The boy went to the door.

"We'll stay here the night then. If he's here for Mar, he'll be back again. I'm going to go walk the halls. Josh, you still have your box of crayons? Why don't you and Lil secure the door?"

Josh rolled his eyes slightly. "I don't have crayons but I have chalk." He and Lillian quickly went about setting up the trap for the door.

"There's a rug in the bathroom we can cover it with," Lillian informed them as she quickly ducked into the adjoining small room to grab small bathmat.

When the pair was done and their handy work reviewed (a small circular sigil twelve inches by twelve with four ancient symbols inside), the three uncomfortably stood there watching Marylin, each silently praying for her to wake.

* * *

_The Next Day…_

Though Lilly hadn't wanted to leave her friend, Dr. O'Connell had insisted on it, and now, after showering and changing into some fresh clothes, Lillian was glad she had. The doctor still didn't know when Marylin would wake, but she was sure the girl had time to go home and clean up. Some fresh air really had done wonders, and after unburdening herself by sharing some of her worries about the dreams to Sookie, Lilly felt more than ready to face whatever the day had in store for her.

Armed with a cup of coffee, an egg croissant sandwich, and a cup of fruit, the girl headed down the hospital hallway to where her friend slept. Upon entering, however, she stopped.

"_You_-"

With her hands full she couldn't reach for her gun, and likewise, she couldn't take her eyes off of him, for fear of him disappearing.

"Who are you? What are you doing here and how did you get past the—"

The mysterious man slowly turned to look at her, but as Lilly walked further into the room, she saw the Doctor was with him. O'Connell glanced at the girl with a funny look before finishing up with Marylin's IV, while the man simply ignored Lilly and returned his attention to her partner, whose hand he lightly touched for a moment.

"She will be better," he said assuredly. Calm, unsettlingly soft. His odd promise wasn't directed at either of the conscious women. Marylin remained still, her chest rising and lowering steadily.

"You've done good work, Doctor," the man praised.

O'Connell threw away some things into a small-lidded biohazard can and smiled and said, "Thank you."

Lillian clenched her teeth but obviously couldn't make her accusation a second time, not with the doctor standing right there.

"I know you're both worried," O'Connell continued. "But she's really doing quite well. Really, the best thing for her is your hope and prayer." After giving them one last smile, she turned to go to the door.

Without bidding goodbye, the man blankly watched the doctor go, and when she was gone, he turned back to Marylin. Lilly observed with alarm as he touched her hand again and closed his eyes. He didn't mutter, but whatever he was pretending to do was utterly bizarre. Freaky even.

"What are you doing?" Lillian snapped as she lunged forward to take Marylin's hand away from him, rather than slap his own. "Don't touch her. Now, how did you get through the trap?"

The man calmly retracted his hand and regarded her fully at last, though his expression was so void of emotion that he almost appeared robotic, despite a permanent weariness to his features. His voice held a monotony that was clearly inhuman.

"I am no demon," he told Lilly. "So there is no reason for alarm. I'm a friend."

"A friend who ran away every time I called to him? I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound like a friend to me." Gently, she placed Marylin's hand down on the woman's stomach. "If you're not a demon, what are you?"

"My name is Castiel," answered the man, avoiding a straight answer. "I apologize. My intension was not to rouse suspicion. I was merely keeping an eye on you and your group, to be certain the demon wouldn't return."

That had Lilly's anger cooling, but it did nothing to help her suspicion. "Who sent you here then? Do you know Bobby?"

"Yes. We have long been friends."

"Why did you leave when I called out to you then?"

"Because it had not been the right time for us to meet, and I still needed to scan the grounds." Castiel looked back to Marylin, whose pallor seemed to be miraculously gaining color, the bruises fading, except Lilly hadn't noticed yet.

"But now I am certain it's safe—at least for the time being," said the man.

Reaching into her pocket, Lillian pulled out a vial of holy water and held it out for him to take. "Dump it on your hand." It was a precaution that she couldn't pass up.

"You don't believe me?"

He held faint traces of a smirk but he did as she asked and poured the water into his palm—only there was no reaction. Lilly gaped, quickly took back the bottle, and noticed his eyes were sparkling in an ethereal sort of way. Surely he wasn't human… So what the hell was he then?

Castiel smiled serenely and said to her, "You can trust me."

Lilly opened her mouth to speak but then heard Marylin stir. The woman inhaled a deep breath, her face healed a great deal, and slowly inched open her eyes. The light was too bright, though through her lashes she saw Lilly's shape…and the man's.

Throat feeling dry and horse, she had to swallow a few times. "Lil…is—is that…you?"

"Marylin?" Immediately, Castiel was pushed to the back of her mind as Lillian reached for her friend's hand and hovered close. "You're _awake_… how—how are you? Do you want some water?"

Marylin drank a quarter of the bottle that had been on the table beside her bed, and then took a moment to notice the lack of pain. There was stiffness from being bedridden a couple of days, stinging in her eyes from the bright light, but other than that, she felt…_healed_.

But what about the crash?

"What…what happened?" She glanced with a weird face to Castiel, who observed her with vague look of relief and assurance. "Are…you the doctor?"

"No," he answered. "But I'm a friend."

The woman gave Lilly a confused grimace.

"Don't ask, but he's not here to cause trouble," Lilly assured before looking towards the door and wondering if she should get the doctor. "How are you awake? You're bruises—you look… so much better."

Again, her eyes turned to Castiel for an answer. But he merely inclined his head, gaze unfathomable.

Marylin glanced blearily around the room, rising on her casted elbow, and saw no one else there with them. "Where's—oh, where's Sam? Is he…is he alright? Lilly, he didn't—"

"No, Mar, he's fine. In fact, the hospital's already released him," Lillian told her. "Don't worry, he's fine. He even brought you those flowers." She gestured to the white daisies that sat in a hospital cup filled with water on the bedside table. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh…just tired. Why is my arm casted up…and my leg?" Marylin moved her limbs with certainty. "How long have I been here?"

"Just a couple of days," Lillian said quickly as she reached out to try and still her movements. "You were in a car accident. You've broken your arm and leg. It's probably best that you don't do too much until the doctor comes back to see you."

"But I feel fine," Marylin insisted, and looked back at Castiel slightly suspiciously, for he was still standing there silently and there was something unsettling about him. "I'm not in any pain. Can—can you call the doctor?"

The bed and casting made her feel confined, especially since she felt there was no reason for her to be there. She moved her leg again, proving its mobility, and then sat up fully and began to un-strap the straps around her arm and shoulders.

"I have to call Luke and Joshua. They're in Bon Temps."

"No, they're not," Lilly said as she stepped back. "They're staying at a hotel near the hospital here in Shreveport. I'll go get the doctor and call them and tell them the news. Please at least stay lying down." The blonde cast one last look at Castiel before leaving the room to find the doctor.

Evelyn O'Connell came quickly back alone a few minutes later and stopped in shock.

"I heard you were awake, but this is incredible." Stepping forward, she immediately took a pen light out of her pocket. "Lean back for me please," she said as she lightly put her hand on Marylin's forehead to test her dilation.

"Incredible…"

Marylin forced herself to pass through all of the doctor's inspections, receiving more awe from her, and then promptly sat back up, moving her casted leg. She couldn't have been hurt that badly if she felt this well.

"Can I get these removed please?" She then looked at Castiel out of the corner of her eye. "Are you a murse?"

The man raised a brow. "No…I am not a 'murse'."

Marylin turned back to O'Connell. "Do you know him?"

"He's…a friend of yours," O'Connell replied as some concern crossed her face, and she looked over towards Castiel.

Thankfully Lilly returned at that moment and heard the statement. When she saw the confusion on Marylin's face, the blonde stepped up beside the trench-coated man and smiled. "Marylin, you remember Castiel. Remember? From the bar?" She gave her a meaningful look, but the doctor wasn't swayed and shook her pony-tailed head.

"Well, I'll go and get the nurses so that we can remove those casts." She wasn't going to argue with it since Marylin had miraculously healed.

"Bar?" repeated Marylin, once the doctor left. "What are you talking about? You know him, Lilly?"

"She and I have just met, though I have known your families for years," explained Castiel for the girl. "I was a friend, but I was particularly close to your father and uncle."

"My father and uncle? What?"

This man looked to be in his mid-thirties, no older. He had to have been a kid if he'd been around their parents.

"Sam and Dean Winchester," he clarified. "They were great men." Whether it was his intention or not, this struck a nerve with Marylin and she suddenly moved away from him, thinking him disturbing.

"Lilly, what the hell?" she said to her partner.

"He's not human," Lillian said with a small grimace and shrug. "I know how it sounds, but he's also not a demon. Not only did he get through the trap we set in case any demons came around, but he also didn't react to the holy water." She looked over at the man and realized that she was standing way to close to him, and stepped back.

"None of it makes sense, but he said he's a friend of Bobby's."

"I am," confirmed Castiel. "But it would be best if we were not to further discuss things here." He seemed harmless, but Marylin still held an edge, even as he moved to the door and said, "We'll meet later and then I will explain. Until then, take great caution—the demon is gone for now, but he may return."

"What demon?" asked Marylin with alarm. The man left the room and disappeared down the hall, leaving Lilly with her anxious friend.

With a small sigh, Lillian sat down in the chair beside the bed and shook her head. "It was a demon driving that car that hit you and Sam that night. We found sulfur at the scene, but there hasn't been a whiff of it since."

"A demon tried to kill me?" It was hard to register the news. "Why?" Marylin breathed.

"That's the thing—we don't know."

"_Okay, we're going to take you to get those casts off, but then we want to x-ray again to see if we can figure out what exactly happened to you."_

O'Connell came into the room with another nurse and unlocked Marylin's bed. "So, go ahead and lean back for me, Marylin, and we'll get you out of them."

Marylin did as she said, not only unhappy but worried too now, and waited impatiently to be out of her gurney.

It was half an hour later when she was finally released, after all the papers had been signed and filed, the nurses bidding the lucky Miss _Gold_ a good day and returning her insurance card. On their hurried way out, Marylin and Lilly intercepted the twins, who cursed the traffic that had dared to impede their haste.

Seeing how miraculously healed she really was, Luke and Joshua both hugged their dear cousin and could've but didn't bring her back to the state she'd been. Marylin recovered from the bear hug and chuckled weakly.

"I don't know how it happened, but can we leave this place? You know I don't like hospitals." They obliged and led her back to their car, a 67' Chevy Impala. "Are we going back to Bon Temps?" she asked.

"We could drop you off, but then we gotta come back here," said Luke. "The demon has to still be somewhere in this town. It couldn't have left."

"I'm not sure it would be a good idea for us to split up right now anyway," Joshua said as he climbed in. "If there's a demon around, we need to stick together. I'm not going to let either of you out of my sight until we have this figured out."

Though Lilly might not have liked the way he put it, she had to agree. "He's right, Mar, I think we need to stay in Shreveport. We can't separate."

"Let's check you guys into a room at the motel we're staying at. It's about a block away." Josh looked over at his brother, and once they were all in, Luke drove out of the hospital parking lot.

* * *

"We haven't confronted a demon in over…over half a year, maybe more," said Marylin, from where she sat on the bed by the window of their motel room. "Except that Maenad, but she wasn't quite one of them."

"Maenad?" asked Luke, not familiar with the creature.

"A nasty, old hag from way back when, was a follower of Dionysus or something, had all of Bon Temps in a frenzy. She's what Lilly and I had chased all the way out here, but she's gone now," his cousin said with some relief. "She had…possessed me, but then Lilly managed to save everyone…along with—" Marylin remembered Eric and his knife, and then Bill and Sookie, but decided not to disclose their roles in the matter. "Along with some others, civilians. But they don't remember anything."

Joshua grinned and looked over at Lilly. "Seriously?" She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, whatever. Mar, was the one that actually killed her," Lilly said as she smirked over at her friend.

"So you guys have stuck around here ever since?" Josh said.

Marylin stood to pace to the window and said, "Yeah, I guess we just did. Scott came, but I already told you he left. And then Lilly…" Though there wasn't visible tension between the two, their fight was recent, and Mar didn't know what to say. "Lilly left too."

Luke watched them, frowning at the ambiguity of her words. "Where'd you go, Lil?"

"I just left town for a few days," the girl said as she refused to look at him.

Marylin suddenly felt her previous resentment rise up and couldn't help but elaborate further for her, just a bit. "She met some guy and he whisked her off to Canada, and she hadn't called for like a week."

"What?" exclaimed both twins in unison.

"I needed a break," Lilly snapped.

"So you just went off with some guy?" Joshua asked incredulously. "That's just not really like you, Lil…"

Lilly stood up now in her agitation. "What's wrong with it?" she asked.

"She's with him now," Marylin added matter-of-factly, before she could stop herself. "Wait, are you, Lilly, or did you finally leave him?"

Lillian had to call on all of her inner strength to keep herself from yelling. "Marylin, this is _really_ uncalled for."

"Did you though, Lilly?" Joshua asked, concern in his voice.

"Josh…" Why did she suddenly feel like it was wrong for her to be with someone else?

"Lilly, who is this guy?" Now Luke stood, and his concern turned overprotective. "Are you still with him? Is he a hunter?"

"Nope," Marylin answered for her, and turned back to the window before they could see her scoff under her breath.

"He's not? What is he then, a civilian?"

"Well, no, he's not a civilian." Now Lilly was uncomfortable and took a step back from them.

Seeing it, but knowing that they needed to know, Joshua pressed on, "Then what is he, Lil?"

The girl looked back and forth between the two men, knowing she didn't have a choice. These two knew her better than she knew herself, not to mention they were hunters and would smell a lie a mile away.

"I'm going out." Grabbing her jacket, she headed for the door. "Thanks, Marylin," she shot out, then slammed the door behind her.

Marylin frowned as she watched her go through the window, but she remained where she was. She wouldn't tell her cousins of Eric herself, but they had to know what Lilly had been up to—there was no way around it. Unhappy was an understatement for Luke.

"Who is he, Marylin? Another hick?"

"No, not another hick," answered Marylin with a slight bite. "But she apparently likes him a lot, and she's not going to leave this place any time soon."

Joshua looked over at Marylin briefly and lifted a hand to his face. "So much for sticking together."

There came a knock on the door even though Marylin hadn't seen anyone approach through the window. She gave the twins apprehensive looks before going to see who it was, finding that wasn't Lilly but that man from the hospital. _Castiel_. How he knew where they were was a disconcerting thought, and so Marylin hesitated a long while before finally opening, though she did not let him in, keeping a foot right at the door.

"You've been stalking us?"

"No. I've been watching over you," answered the man calmly. He looked past her to the twins, and his eyes softened marginally. Of course, the boys were apprehensive as well.

"Who this, Mar?" asked Luke cautiously.

"The guy from the hospital that Lilly met," his cousin said, before Castiel stepped towards the doorway for her to let him in.

"May I come in? We need to speak."

"About what?" asked Joshua.

"The demon that caused the car crash."

"What do you know about it?" Josh stood up but not to block his entrance. Instead, he nodded to Marylin so that she'd step aside, and when she did, Castiel walked in. "What do you know about the demon?" repeated Joshua again and he couldn't hide the suspicion in his voice.

Stopping in the middle of the room, Castiel noticed that one of them was missing, and instead questioned, "Where's Lilly?"

"Gone," Marylin told him, crossing her arms as she leaned against the table. "We had a fight."

"What? She cannot be gone." The sudden anxiety that crossed the man's face almost looked unnatural for him.

"Well, too late now. She left fifteen minutes ago."

As Castiel rounded on her suddenly, the twins tensed and stepped towards him. "Why didn't you stop her?" the stranger asked.

"We were going to go after her," answered Luke tightly. "Dude, who are you? Marylin—"

"My name is Castiel, and the demon isn't only after Marylin but all of you," the man informed them urgently. Finally. "Which is why you shouldn't have let Lillian go."

The twins and Marylin suddenly paled, and the latter quickly said, "She couldn't have gone far. She's probably in her room."

Though that didn't completely relax the strange man, for the moment he looked calmer. "The demon was just a minion, but more could be sent again. That is why it's imperative for all of you to stay together."

"That was originally the plan, but…" Joshua glanced at his cousin and brother and sighed before looking back at the stranger. "Well, our group has a tendency of fighting and then leaving."

"Yes, that is very unfortunate." Castiel looked with slight scolding at Marylin, who narrowed her eyes in return. "When you find Lilly, please reconcile your disagreements," he said to her.

"I don't think our disagreements are any of your business," she replied.

"I should think you wouldn't want more regret for the future," Castiel responded deliberately, and this caused the woman's face to fall. He turned back to the twins before her agitation surfaced, and added, "Please do the same."

"Yeah, we will," Luke promised. He was still wary. "Why was the demon after us?"

"I'm not certain," Castiel said as he sighed. "But I will find out."

"Why do you care who this demon is?" Josh asked, unable to quell his curiosity. "I mean, being a friend of Bobby's is one thing, but why would you come all the way across the country to take care of this? We've dealt with demons before. It's not like we couldn't handle it."

"Yes, I know you are quite capable, but I believe the demon had an ulterior motive."

Luke crossed his arms. "What's that?"

Again the man gave them a disappointing answer: "I do not know yet."

"So why did you come here then?" Marylin questioned. She barely restrained her irritation.

Castiel turned to her, as his own annoyance stirred faintly beneath a composure he still held.

"I came to see if you were feeling better, and I see that you are now. After a crash that could've killed you… It was a miracle, was it not?" he said, and there was something in his gaze that glinted. A vague realization dawned on Mar.

Her expression slowly fell, but she was at a loss for words—it was difficult to comprehend. Had _he_ healed her? No… But there was clearly something inhuman about him.

Marylin took a slight step back, and Castiel gave her a momentary, faint smile that simply asked her to be a little more grateful next time. Then the man stepped to the door to leave, Luke and Joshua appearing partially perplexed by what he had said to their cousin.

"Find Lilly and be careful," Castiel advised them. "We will be in contact. If I discover anything, I'll immediately notify you."

"Yeah, we will…" Joshua said with furrowed brows. "Thanks for the information."

Though Castiel had been vague, he had provided them with some information.

* * *

Having finally managed to flee the gossip mongers of Bon Temps, Sam checked the numbers on the hotel doors until he spotted the one with the number '403'. Tentatively, he knocked and waited with uncertainty on his face.

Marylin didn't bother opening the door, as she contemplated Castiel's entire visit, so Luke went to see who was out there this time. He hoped it was Lilly—who else could it have been?—but then to his great disappointment saw that it wasn't. He scowled slightly, wondering what the hick wanted.

"Mar… S'for you."

The woman looked up, seeing Sam there in the doorway, and quickly stood. "You came."

Sam hesitated slightly as he glanced at the twins. "Yeah… I wanted to see how you were doing." Even Joshua's gaze had darkened somewhat. Although then, he took a step to the door.

"Luke, let's go find Lil," he suggested.

Sam quickly stepped out of his way and his eyes bounced between the identical men. Luke was more reluctant than his brother, lingering briefly to give Merlotte a warning look. But he followed after Josh so they could leave Mar and the hick alone.

Marylin took a few paces across the room and sighed. "I'm better now. They released me just a few hours ago," she told Sam.

"But… what happened? I mean, you were in a cast on yer leg and yer arm, and… bruises all over your face." There was no way she could have healed that fast. "Not to mention you were in a coma. I didn't even believe Lillian at first when she called."

"I don't know what happened," she answered a little brusquely, staring at the floor. "I feel completely fine. Look," she turned to him and moved her arm and shook her head. "I guess it _was_ a miracle."

Reaching forward, he took her arm and gently rubbed where the cast had been.

"Marylin… I'm so sorry. I shoulda seen that car comin'." He lifted his other hand to the side of her face, his thumb stroking the hollow of her cheek. "And I'm sorry I didn't come sooner…"

The woman looked between them a moment and frowned slightly. She shrugged.

"It's okay. You probably had to settle your employees. I'm sure they were worried about you."

Sam scoffed and nodded. "Yeah, but they're okay now. I'm just happy _you're_ okay."

"It was a demon that did it," Marylin reminded him. "It probably possessed the driver of the other car and then hit us. It was after me."

"Yeah, that was what Lillian had said, but…a _demon_?" He raised an eyebrow and regarded her. He lowered his hand from her cheek to her other arm, held her by the forearms. Tenderly stroked her just the same. "Why would a demon go after you?"

"I don't know, because I'm a hunter. Though it's probably after the rest of us too—Lilly, my cousins. We don't know why, but we're going to find out," she decided not to include the bit about the strange man named Castiel, not until they found out more about him. "Usually they just terrorize innocents, not have other motives."

"So that mean's you're going to go looking for it? Hunt it down?"

"Well, maybe not right away. Not until we get a lead, look around the town. We don't think it left yet." Marylin let out a breath and stepped away from him. Sam watched her with a deep frown of worry. Castiel had been right about one thing. "I can't split from Lilly and my cousins, not while the thing is still out there," she said.

"Probably a good idea then, to stick together."

Sam looked away towards the wall and window, unable to stop the awkward silence that suddenly drifted between them. He didn't know what to say. Though he was a part of her supernatural-filled world that didn't mean that he completely understood what she hunted, or the severity of certain situations that she may have found herself in.

"Sam." She saw his expression, and was unable to stop her own from souring. "I wish this didn't happen… I wanted a break, but this time a hunt came to me, and no matter how much I don't want it, there's nothing I can do…"

"What are you saying?" he asked her. As if he was waiting for some finality

His voice teetered on the edge. On the edge of…something she couldn't quite understand. Before the accident, that same night but earlier, what he had said to her—to take it slow, this thing between them that had been battered so much by events that had stricken him. As if they had to pick up the pieces, even though none of what had first separated them was their fault. Now his face was so full of emotion. He took a step towards her, as if he wanted to hold her again.

But _why_? Did her almost dying make him reconsider what he said? For his own sake, Marylin took a step back.

"Sam…" She swallowed but held his gaze. The twinkling in his eyes almost undid her. "Sam, I think until we, my group, find the demon and kill it—solve our problems—maybe it's best that you stay away from me."

"What?" She saw the hope he'd come there with extinguish as if she doused him with freezing water.

"Because I don't want anything happening to you," she quickly continued. And there was glazing in her own eyes. She fought to keep herself together. "You had said it yourself, remember? Shit keeps hitting the fan, and we need to be careful. And I almost got _you_ killed."

Sam took a stride towards her, incredulous, shaking his head. "What? No. Marylin-"

Marylin held up a hand and in return moved away again. "Sam, imagine if the car hit us differently. The demon aimed for me but he could've gotten you too. For Christ's sake, your arm is broken! It could've been much worse."

Sam covered the short distance between them before she could try to again escape him. The table was behind her. He took her by the shoulders, imploring.

"No, Marylin. No, it doesn't matter how it coulda been because I'm fine. I'm right here. _You_ were in a coma. We weren't sure if you'd make-"

"Sam, this isn't about me. This is about you—I need to protect you!"

Sam took her face with his hands because she wouldn't stop shaking her head. The distress from the accident still had an effect on her, even though she was fine physically, because tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes, and she struggled in her attempt at persuading him. She wasn't thinking straight.

"I need to protect you," she gasped, spoke frantically. He tried _shh_'ing her. "It's my job. It's always been my job, Sam. And it'll always _be_ my job. I won't ever be able to take a break. It finds me, see. It finds me. And who-whoever I'm with," she gave a job. "It affects. Like it did you. Jesus."

"Marylin. It didn't affect me. Trust me." Sam gave a disbelieving laugh to assure her, to show her he was fine. "I'm still here. And I can protect myself. I'm a grown man. If anythin', I should protect _you_." He let out another laugh. She a sob. He wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs. "I can turn into a gator and bite the demon's head off."

Resorting to joking about his ability—Sam was that desperate.

"You'd be no match…"

"I can sure try."

But Marylin wouldn't back down just like he. "Sammy, you need to stay away from me!"

And he snapped at her. No. Yelled. While holding firmly her head and staring into her refilling eyes.

"Goddammit, Marylin, I won't."

And then he kissed her with yearning. He claimed her lips almost forcefully because he didn't know what else to do. What else to make him believe that he wanted to be there. Because they went through so much already. And there they were alive. He had thought he'd lost her. Lost her during the accident. And any sliver of a remaining chance slipped away when the doctor gave the lack of news.

Marylin's eyes went wide and Sam pulled away before she choked on her surprise and her tears. But he didn't pull away far. His mouth brushed against hers as he spoke, breathless, gruffly, annoyed but quick to forgive.

"Marylin, I won't," he repeated. Her tears stopped. "You know what I am. You _know_ that I'm a part of your world, just' in a different way. And…and while I don't know everythin' you know, you ain't gonna scare me shitless with most of what you tell me. I'm not yer average Joe."

She shook her head to concede. And with the silence that followed, both gazing at each other and waiting, Sam kissed her again, this time gentler but with a passion that had been repressed all this while by his conscience, and fueled this very moment by the waiting. Marylin relaxed and welcomed the eager and matched it with her own. He let down one of his hands and wrapped his arm around her waist. His fingers at her ear tangled with her hair.

But before they could get further, the kiss broke again. Marylin looked at Sam.

"But what about you said?" she asked quietly.

"When?"

"In the car…before it happened?"

Sam sighed and tilted his head. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Very solemnly he said, "Marylin, I was a moron. I shoulda done what I did now right then and there. And when I saw what happened to you, I thought I'd never get my chance. But…" Unexpectedly then, Sam let her go. He gave one more stroke to her cheek. "Maybe ta'night you should get some rest. You may have healed, but you're tired. And you just got out of the hospital."

But before he stepped away from her Marylin stopped her. A hand on his arm.

"Wait. No. You're doing it again."

"Doing what?" He had that same expression when they had their last talk in the car. His sympathy always took over. He couldn't take advantage. Even though he wasn't ever close to it.

Marylin just sighed. "I'm fine, Sam. Believe me. I'm fine. If…you don't have to go back to Bon Temps…stay. Can you just stay?

Sam smiled softly and yielded to her pull. "I don't have to be anywhere else."

"Good. So I guess tonight we should just stop doubting each other." She thinking he couldn't handle her world. He believing he needed to be careful around her. Marylin wiped her eyes from any last traces of tears and said:

"So kiss me again, Sammy. And stay. Before anything else happens. You said it yourself."

She touched his own face now, stroked his stubble, pulled herself to him against his chest with her other arm snaking around his neck. Burying in his shaggy hair. Although, this third time they sought each other's lips in the same instant and neither disappointed the other by saying or doing anything else counterproductive, for a lack of a better word. They kissed each other and yielded to their longing as they should've done days ago.

But better late than never right?

* * *

She had stayed in bed long after Sam left—he had to return to Bon Temps before the sun fully rose, and while their parting disappointed the both of them, both promised they'd see each other as soon as they could regardless of doubts or worries or other inhibitions. They wanted to be together and there were no other questions to be asked. That was that. Work would keep Sam busy, including the hustle and bustle of his little town. Sookie and Bill's marriage was already engulfing Bon Temps in an air of utter excitement, and Sam, unsurprisingly, was asked to cater the food. He could only oblige, of course, since Sookie was one of his waitresses, and he couldn't quite escape her constant enthusiasm and innate bubbliness.

Marylin wished she was there with him, instead of there in Shreveport with the wholly unwanted situation which they knew nothing about. That man Castiel was a real stiff, and with whatever he was, something told her that her group wouldn't be able to evade him.

As the woman finally forced herself to rise, seeing the clock read a quarter to ten, she lumbered to the bathroom and grabbed her clothes along the way. A hot shower did her well, managing to wake her fully and restore her resolve, and allowed for a better mood.

With steam trailing behind her, she meandered back out to the room. But then she saw her phone was ringing, nearly at the end of its call, and she had to grab it quick before she missed it. The number was unknown.

"Hello?"

There was a moment when no one returned the tentative greeting, but then a slightly rushed and breathless voice replied.

"H-hello, Marylin? This is Dr. O'Connell, from Shreveport Medical Center?"

"Oh, hi, Doctor," a puzzled look crossed the hunter's face—to have call be from the doctor was the last thing she expected. "I didn't know you had my number."

"It was on your medical file," the doctor said a little too quickly. "I was just wondering how you were feeling. Your recovery was…rather _abrupt_."

"Yeah, I know." Marylin cleared her throat slightly, not quite knowing how to explain. "I feel fine. I guess it was just a miracle," she said, and tried to keep her tone light. "I'm sure it happens every now and then. I always had quick recoveries."

There was more silence on the other line.

"W-well, that's good to hear. I hope you have a good day—" but her voice suddenly lurched as though she'd been pushed and she quickly changed her tone. "B—_but_!" she nearly yelped. "Maybe you could come back for another couple of tests? Miracles aren't easily documented in the hospital."

"Uh… You see, Doctor," began Marylin. "I'm not from around here. I was just visiting…" She didn't particularly like hospitals, nor did she want to go back to one, especially since she was fine. They didn't need to explore what couldn't be explained.

But on the other line, O'Connell was near tears. She was panicking and tried hard to keep her voice level…while a gleaming knife was bear at her neck, pressing into her skin and threatening to draw blood. The doctor knew if she yelled, it would cut her jugular and by the time someone found her, she'd be dead.

Her perpetrator, another middle-aged, silver-haired doctor, smiled an evil smile as he coaxed her to persist no matter Marylin's unwillingness. She needed to come, lest the doctor's life would end. Of course, Marylin needn't know that…

The second doctor's eyes glinted a glossy black. "She better not hang up," he whispered warningly in Evelyn's ear.

"I'll promise I'll visit my doctor back home," promised Marylin, but now her suspicion was already rousing. She heard O'Connell's frantic breathing. "Doctor, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes of course, I'm fine," she said, giving a soft sob off as a laugh. "But I really need to you to come back to the hospital, Marylin. I know it's a hassle, but I really…" O'Connell hesitated and the knife pressed closer, a thin line of blood welling up onto the cold steel. "I really need you to come. Something could go wrong, and I need to look you over."

"But I'm _fine_," Marylin insisted, while she listened to what she thought was another's breathing. She had an unsettling feeling in her gut. "Okay, if I prove to you that I'm fine, could we not do all of the tests? There's really no need."

"Okay," the doctor replied. Then it suddenly sounded like a scuffle ensued. "Marylin—" After name was uttered, the line went dead.

The knife retracted but the grip on the doctor's shoulder remained, as she was spun in her chair to face the smarmy demon, whose face was far too close. He had been _such_ a nice man before—he was one of the chief pediatricians, with a wife and even grandchildren. Evelyn couldn't figure out what happened. But those eyes…

"Is she coming?" he asked her. When she nodded frantically with tears down her cheeks, he smiled and said, "Good. You were always easily guilted, weren'cha Evee?"

He wiped her blood off his knife with his finger and sniffed it briefly, grimacing.

"If this goes well, maybe I won't have to throw ya to the Fangs after all. But won't they be disappointed!"

What had she done? Guilt and horror washed over Evelyn. Had she really been so easy to summon Marylin into this mess?

"W-what are you going to do with her? You have no reason to go after this girl!" Even as she tried to be brave, she wilted and cringed.

"Actually I do. I've gotta whole lot of reasons. They go way back—sins of the father and all that, but it's long story that I'm rather bitter about," the demon said, disgruntled, and stepped away from her to pace. But he kept Evelyn in her chair by an unseen force that only made her panic more.

"See, there aren't many of us left… We gotta scrounge around in shitholes like this now—middle of nowhere swamp ponds with hicks and white trash," he turned to glance at Evee, smirking at her minor offense. "S'only so much fun, you know? Not like the good old days… But I'm sure I'll get a kick soon," he sneered. "Marylin probably heard your cryin' and now she knows something's up." The demon glanced at his Rolex and took a seat beside O'Connell, sighing. "But that just means she'll be here soon."

Realizing what she had done, the doctor closed her eyes and let her chin fall to her chest. She ground her teeth, her eyes clenched shut.

She tried to save lives every day, often times forgoing sleep, food, and sanity, and now just because she'd been scared, her will had turned to water. She had a feeling that after trying to save Marylin's life, she just now gave her back into Death's hands.

* * *

**I would really really like to hear your thoughts about the chapter. Especially the development with a certain two. As well as the other plot pieces. Please review!**

**Thanks! :)**

**-Castiel will be coming back. You'll find out what he is. New being. For those of you who know Supernatural, you already know what he is. **

**-Evelyn is a character of ours, and she'll be staying for a while as well. And we have plans cooking up for the doctor and mysterious man. I hope you guys like Nicholas Cage's old movies... ;)  
**


	19. Stairway to Heaven

There's a lady who's sure  
All that glitters is gold  
And she's buying a stairway to heaven

When she gets there she knows  
If the stores are all closed  
With a word she can get what she came for

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh  
And she's buying a stairway to heaven

~Led Zeppelin

. . .

When she knocked on her cousins' door and it opened to reveal two seemingly still sleepy twins, Marylin sighed and entered the room. There were fortunately no women wrapped up in the mass of bed sheets on the beds, but instead there came the distinctly unpleasant smell of night-old pizza from the table. There were two boxes, and the hotel didn't supply a fridge, which meant the boys opted to leave the pizza out until morning. Before Marylin scolded them, Josh quickly discarded the boxes, but not before Luke stole himself the last slice and chowed it down as his breakfast. He claimed it was still good.

Marylin rolled her eyes and turned to Joshua.

"I need to go to back to the hospital. Doctor O'Connell called to ask to do some tests on me, since they couldn't explain my fast recovery, but I think something else is wrong. She sounded like she was panicking, so I'm going to go and see if she's okay."

"So you're just going to go there?" Josh asked with a lifted brow. "You think there's trouble and you're going to go by _yourself_?"

"Well, maybe one of you can come with me," Marylin offered, glancing at Luke, who wiped his greasy hands on his pajama pants. "Is Lilly still in her room?"

"Should be, yeah," Luke answered, and went to put on his shirt—he was never uncomfortable in front of her, for they were family. "Josh, why don't you go with Mar, and I'll stay here. Lil's still mad, but I'll try to talk her out."

As Marylin started back to the door, Joshua grabbed his jacket and followed her. "Good luck," bided the former.

"Hey, we used to be close, remember?" reminded Luke as they stepped outside. "I'm sure she'll let me in."

Joshua showed a little flare of an old rivalry and scoffed. "You were never close."

The door shut behind him and he followed Marylin to her Camaro, which stood beside his and his brother's Impala. Joshua yawned and ran one of his hands through his short hair, scratching the back of his head.

"So back to the hospital?" he asked. They both got in.

"Yeah, I think something's wrong. She called half an hour ago and practically begged me to come," Marylin answered, and accelerated out of the lot. "But what could happen in a hospital?"

"Food poisoning with the stuff they tried feeding you," he told her with a grin.

The trip to the hospital was a relatively short one since their hotel was only a couple blocks away, and, after being directed to Dr. O'Connell's office, they found the door shut and if anyone was inside, they were unresponsive.

Joshua looked over at his cousin, his thoughts turning grim. The window beside the door was obscured by the partially-drawn blinds. They couldn't see very well inside.

"The lights are on…" Marylin said. She knocked lightly, leaned close to the door. A few nurses passed by down the hall.

"Doctor O'Connell? It's Marylin. You called for a follow up. Are you there?"

Still, no one answered. So Joshua moved his hand to the doorknob to test it and found the lock not set. Carefully, he opened the door and stepped inside before his cousin. The chair behind the desk was turned, its back facing them.

"Dr. O'Connell?" he said cautiously.

Finally, the woman turned around and smiled at them. In her doctor's garb, buttons undone, her blouse underneath unbuttoned a few to reveal her clavicles and below. And her hair was down and out of its ponytail. It was mussed—voluminous and thick.

"I was wonderin' when you'd get here," she said. Her naturally husky voice was far huskier. There was something off about her.

Marylin took a step towards her and found only one light lit—the one beside her desk.

"When you called, you sounded distressed," said the hunter warily. "Did something happen?"

The doctor waved away the concern and stood up.

"Oh, it was nothing. You're here now and that's what matters. Please sit down." Gesturing to the two chairs, she promptly strode around them to close the door, not like an esteemed doctor would but a sassy nurse. Ass out, chest too.

Joshua watched her out of the corner of his eye and felt his hair rise. Something _was_ wrong. Marylin led him to the chairs, then introducing him:

"Doctor, this is my cousin Joshua. I hope…you don't mind he's here."

They both lingered and did not sit just yet.

"Of course not. I could hardly expect you to show up by yourself after the injuries you'd just healed from." O'Connell smiled and gestured to the chairs again. "Please, take a seat and we'll get started."

Hesitantly, they sat, Joshua never taking his eye off of the doctor. "What is it you'd like to do today, Doctor?"

"Well…test you, of course. I mean, _Marylin_." She smiled again and, suddenly, the lock on the door twisted shut.

The hunters heard but didn't look back, and Marylin's hands tightened in her lap as she discreetly searched for signs—there was no smell of sulfur, no black smoke.

"I'm fine," she insisted a little tensely.

But then, she saw something there in the shadows, in the doorway of what seemed to be a closet, partially ajar. A limp foot, whose body was probably shoved further inside. Only all of it didn't seem to fit. There was a glint in Evelyn's eyes.

Marylin was already rising and reaching for her holy water. "Joshua!"

The boy acted immediately. He lunged out of his chair and at the doctor. But an invisible force unexpectedly flung him across the room and into the wall, while Marylin was simultaneously flung back into her chair. Evelyn laughed.

"How _pathetic_," she spat.

"_Christo_!" Marylin yelled. The doctor's eyes flooded black, which only prompted another chuckle. As Marylin heard Josh's struggle—he was glued against the wall—she tried to look back but found her neck stiff and being held in place.

"If you hurt him, I swear I'll send your ass back to hell!" The demon was clearly powerful, and without backup, Marylin fear she would not succeed. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanic—"

Evelyn's hand swung through the air and connected with Marylin's cheek, a vicious smack sounding through the air. Marylin gasped and heaved for breath.

"You think your practiced chants can help you now?" The doctor shook her head. "You would have to try much harder than that, and something tells me you just don't have it in you."

Marylin simmered in her chair, felt her face burn and the iron taste of blood in her mouth. She spat it out (it landed and glistened on the edge of the desk) and then she glared hatefully at the demon, whose motive she just could not fathom.

"It was you who tried to kill me before! Why? Revenge? You bastards are practically extinct."

"_Practically_ being the key word, my dear, and we have your damn family to thank for it!" In a sudden burst of the demon's rage, Marylin's chair flew back across the room to slam into the wall beside her cousin.

"Soon…very soon," the demon said. "You will get what's coming to you."

Joshua struggled against the wall, but try as he might, he couldn't get his hand into his pocket to where his cell phone was.

The hit had knocked out Marylin's breath and she gasped out, "_Why_?" The wood of the chair bruised her back and she hunched forward in pain. "I don't even know what…what my family did! They just hunted ev-evil sons of—bitches like you."

The demon opened its mouth to speak. Suddenly, it froze and choked. Its hands curled into fists. In jerky movements, its head tipped back, but just as quickly as the seizure-like symptoms had come on, they stopped.

"It feels almost like indigestion when they do that," it said, belittling the attempts of its host.

"The others are going to come," Marylin warned with all the grit she could muster. "And—and I don't think you'll have the power to hold all four of us." She was worried about the doctor, and then that man in the closet. If they died under her watch, Marylin wouldn't forgive herself, but she had the sinking feeling that the latter already was.

The muscles of Josh's neck stood out in his strain. "You're making a _huge_ mistake," Josh spat out. "You have _no_ idea who you're messing with."

"Oh, but I do," the demon said, smiling, as it straightened its hand and went to stand before the boy. "I know exactly who you are, Joshua, and I think Sam Winchester would be disappointed to see how easy it was to capture his own son."

Joshua's face fell in shock.

Marylin watched, her own face white, as the pressure holding her cousin greatened and he cried out, his ribcage feeling as if it was compressing inward. Marylin screamed for him, begged the demon to stop. The demon only laughed and lifted another hand towards her. Marylin's bruises blossomed across her back and she saw stars from the unbearable pain of being pushed against her immobile chair.

"You know… I had both of your fathers in this very same spot once," the demon said with a laugh that once again choked and cut off.

The pressure on both Marylin and Joshua was momentarily lifted as the demon fought with itself. Rather, fought with the _real_ doctor, who was thrashing for control of her body.

Joshua gasped for breath. The motion hurt, and he sagged against the wall. Marylin's freed neck fell forward. Although, like before, the pause was short lived, and not a minute later, both of the hunters were held once again, the pressure even greater than the first time—the demon finally won its battle with Evelyn and shut her up.

Josh cried out as he felt a rib break. Marylin felt a warmth in her head as her tearing vision filled with stars. The pain was pulling them downward, dragging their consciences into a stifling abyss.

Yet, before either of their worlds was able to go dark, there came a sudden rush of what sounded like wings behind the doctor. Yes, _wings_.

A man in a trench coat lunged out of the dimness across the room. The demon spun in surprise and backed away just in time.

"Release them. Now," Castiel ordered.

"You think that by just flying in here, I'll do as you ask?" the demon asked.

"Castiel," Joshua gasped in surprise. Marylin watched the two through a watery gaze.

"You _know_ who I am and what I will do to you." Castiel took a stride towards the doctor, looked past Evelyn and saw the vile demon inside. "After all these years, still you seek revenge? _You_ are the pathetic one—it's futile. You're outnumbered."

"It is _not_ futile! We will have what is rightfully ours!" the demon snapped at him. It took a step back as it had spoken.

"Then you will be destroyed just like the rest of you."

Upon this, Evelyn was sent backwards, against the other wall among the medical certificates, and Castiel swiftly rounded on her. He raised a hand to her forehead.

"It's long over," he said severely. "And you know it."

Though what _It_ was, neither hunters knew. _It_ sounded like something grave, something that happened way back when, because of the way Castiel spoke. Whatever _It_ was, it carried an ancient gloom that chilled Joshua and Marylin to their cores.

Before the demon could even open its mouth to say a word, the heel of Castiel's hand had pressed against the demon's forehead. The black eyes disappeared, to be replaced by a bright yellow glow in the eyeballs. The same light then spewed from the demon's mouth and made its skin, Evelyn's skin, nearly transparent from the light's brightness.

She screamed—yes, Evelyn too because finally she was being freed. The scream was hers and the demon's, unearthly from the coupling. It filled the room. The demon wailed in massive, ripping pain. Because ripping was exactly what was happening. Ripping straight from the host. Clawing at Evelyn's soul with its dwindling strength.

But, all of it lasted for five seconds or so because Castiel was good. Good at whatever the hell he did. The hunters gaped. After five seconds, the glow disappeared altogether, along with the demon, who was not only banished from the doctor's body but also smote, and the screaming stopped. Leaving Evelyn to limply collapse unconscious against the wall.

Joshua was first to speak in the silence that followed. He winced, held at the spot in his chest where his broken rib was, he was sure, and stepped off the wall.

"What—what did you do? What—_are_ you?"

Marylin limped to her cousin and held onto him at the crook of his arm. Castiel, meanwhile, said absolutely nothing—he was busy making sure Evelyn was still alive, and she was. He impassively lifted her into his arms and carried her to a small couch that was there in the office. After lowering her, he touched his hand to her shoulder and then, after a brief moment, retracted.

As if resigned, he finally faced the two Winchesters.

"I suppose it can no longer be evaded. I knew your parents, as did the demon. They tried to kill it before, one of many, but it escaped, and now it came after you. I finished the job, so it will never come after you again, and no one else, not while I'm watching over you."

"Watching over us?" repeated Marylin.

"Yes. I have made it my duty, after promising your parents." Castiel glanced at Joshua, to answer his question. "I'm an angel, Joshua."

Sam Winchester could truly be seen in his son's face at that moment, as looks of wonder and sadness mixed. "You knew my _dad_?"

Joshua couldn't help but reiterate. The kids didn't talk about their parents that much, wishing to believe themselves impervious to the pain of missing them, but they still worshipped their fallen hunters' memories, if silently and personally.

"What were they like? How did you know them? Did you watch over them, too?"

"Joshua," hissed Marylin under her breath. She didn't trust the supposed angel. Angel—just saying, _thinking_ the word was… Well, it was something out of a fairytale!

Castiel nodded. "Yes, and we fought alongside each other."

"And we're supposed to believe you?" Marylin challenged. "I've never seen one of you. None of us have. I—no other hunters we've known have either."

"That does not mean we don't exist," Castiel said, and stepped towards them calmly. "We watch over you even if you can't see us. We are always there."

"Where were you before then?" the woman questioned heatedly. It was both from her pain and resentment. How dare this creep use their memories this way! "Watch over us my ass," she spat.

"Marylin…" Joshua said carefully.

Of course he didn't trust Castiel completely either. The idea of angels was farfetched bible-talk to him, too. Obviously. He was a hunter as well. But…he had a hard time fighting against the desire to _believe. _Especially in a time like this. With all that happened.

After all, he and Marylin had just watched Castiel take care of a demon by simply pressing his hand to the doctor's forehead. So Joshua said:

"Maybe we should give him a chance to explain."

On the couch, Evelyn slowly opened her eyes, gaze only slightly obscured by her hair. She was too afraid to say anything but unable to look away for fear of what might happen.

"I know you don't trust me, and I don't hold it against you, Marylin, after the life that you had, but I promise you I mean no harm." The odd softness, the…_concern_, in the angel's voice had her looking away uncomfortably as he stopped a meter before them. Though he wasn't human, he seemed to know that trust took time to grow, so there was nothing more he did.

"Perhaps you should return to Luke and Lilly, before they worry," he suggested, looking to Joshua. "There should be no more threats, but please remain together. I will take care of the other doctor and—"

The three looked to find Evelyn awake. The woman slowly sat up and to her credit, she didn't freak out. Evelyn swallowed and lifted a hand to fix her shirt.

"I…"

Always the caring one, Joshua stepped towards her, hands raised. "Doctor, I know you're scared, but everything's okay now. No one's going to hurt you."

"I know…" she said softly, her eyes darting to Marylin as she frowned. "I never—I'm _sorry_. I shouldn't have asked you to come."

Marylin managed to overcome her resentment for the moment and shook her head, crossed her arms.

"It was the _demon_, not you. It's fine. If you didn't do what it asked, it would've killed you," she said, and found herself in a mix of emotions. She turned away from them and raised a hand to her face, letting out a breath. She'd be sore for a few days after this.

For some reason, Marylin's attempted reassurance didn't have the desired effect and Evelyn only found herself feeling worse.

"It's gone. I cast it out of you," Castiel gently told the doctor. "It won't return."

Evelyn nodded, her mind swirling with all of the recent implications. She'd always tried to devout, but not faced with the facts, she found herself unsettled by it.

"If… if you need my office," she started as she stood up. "I can step outside."

"Thank you, but no," Joshua told her, smiling kindly. "We actually need to leave anyway."

Castiel went to the closet where the other doctor was stashed—it was the pediatrician. He looked dead. He _was_ dead actually. But the angel kneeled beside him and touched his shoulder, just as he had Evelyn's, and color slowly returned to the man's face. Just like that.

"Doctor Levis will be well and will return to his wife and newborn grandson," said the angel as he lifted the pediatrician's shoulders. "But, Doctor O'Connell, I will need your help. It'll be best for this man to take the day off."

"I don't think that will be a problem…" Evelyn watched the angel move the unconscious doctor to the couch that she just recently vacated. All of what Castiel did appeared entirely, miraculously effortless. She stared at him in awe.

Joshua guided Marylin to the door and unlocked it. "Castiel, we'll be in touch," said the former.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the Dr. Levis had recovered enough for him to head home. Evelyn and Castiel watched the taxi carry her fallen colleague away from the hospital.

"I don't understand, though I _should_…" she said quietly.

"I am very sorry that you had to be involved," the angel apologized, and though he returned to his solemn self, he was being sincere. "If I had know the demon would use you as bait, I would have stopped him at once."

The woman turned to face him and shrugged.

"Sometimes things are out of our power to stop. I'm just happy that no one was seriously hurt… or at least they weren't after _you_ helped."

Doubt started to swamp her, but not about what had happened. Rather, she was faced with the ever-present dilemma of science versus religion. She had grown up a devout catholic and Sunday church followed her into adulthood.

She looked up at Castiel with slightly narrowed eyes and softly asked, "You're…really an angel?"

The man stared across the lot and inclined his head ever-so-slightly. If he hadn't wanted anyone else to find out about him, it was too late—there was nothing that could be done. And with the world now, with the vampires that revealed themselves, it was only expected for other things to be easy to believe in.

Evelyn felt a strange sense of warmth engulf her then, something that made her smile. Her church had been right about one thing at least. If there was evil, there was good, too, and it watched over people.

Before she uttered another word, Castiel stepped away and regarded her one last time.

She, as expected, had millions of questions suddenly flooding her head. The man probably saw this and carefully said:

"But I must go now. You can rest assured that nothing else will come after you, though if you need to speak with Marylin, or her cousins, you should be able to call them."

"Yes, thank you." She smiled softly and nodded. Questions later then…perhaps. "I don't think I'll need to call them anymore, but I have Marylin's number if I have to."

The angel wordlessly bid goodbye with another incline of his head. And…right before her eyes, he _disappeared_ into the daylight with a gust of invisible wings. Mystified, Evelyn searched the sky for any trace of him, but the southern autumn wind carried off through the trees and far, far above. She had to shield her eyes from the sun.

As if needing proof of his existence now that he was gone, she kept looking. Although, she really didn't need it and slowly she smiled again. Because angels like Castiel really did exist, the warmth that she had felt with him near was able to create a barrier against the fear of the darkness that she had discovered as well.

* * *

Luke knocked on Lillian's door, but the girl wasn't answering. He knew she was in there, and either she was ignoring him or she was sleeping. It was already noon. The curtains were drawn, so he couldn't see inside.

Inside Lilly _was_ sleeping, curled up on her motel room's crappy bed with a pillow over her head. Lately she felt like she could sleep for days, which was most likely due to the readjustment of her body's schedule. So she resigned herself her dreams. They took her away from all of her problems, showed her a world that she still wasn't certain was her imagination, or reality.

She dreamt about the very same man and woman, and they were reclining on the same bed of lush furs, basking in each other's love. But this time, Lillian lingered on them, and listened to their words. She could feel their affection, their adoration for one another, and almost felt like she was _physically_ a part of it. It was so wonderful. She never wanted to leave.

The man's hand trailed up the woman's naked side, lovingly and tenderly, and he gazed at her brown eyes. They were so warm and so kind that they managed to melt his coldness. Her glow radiated off his own pale body, attracted him like a moth to a brilliant flame.

"You are the most beautiful thing that I've ever laid my gaze upon." His words floated like gentle kisses across her skin. "I have search for years for a woman like you, but I have found none."

She smiled at him, her hands curled beneath her cheek.

"You gave up too soon," she replied. Gently, she kissed a finger of his when it drifted too close to her mouth. "But now I have found you."

"It is not too late?" he asked in earnest. His hand stopped at her neck to stroke a golden tress of her hair. But as he glanced at it, he was already frowning with quick disappointment. Of course it was too late. He was not human—now he could _never_ go where she wanted to take him.

"I wish…I could control time, change cruel fate so that we never parted."

The woman stroked the rough stubble on his cheek. "We must be satisfied with what we now have." Leaning forward, she gently kissed his lips. "Stay with me."

"I will."

His hand moved to her hip and he shifted across the coats of fur to be closer, her warm igniting an ardent blaze within him. He refused to ever let her go. He nuzzled her neck and breathed her sweet, luscious scent—_nothing_ could make him feel so alive. If it were possible, _she_ would be his life source. Her warmth would drive him, her glow would help keep his sanity. He would not lose himself to the dark, then.

He was a part of that world, but she would help keep him on the surface, helping him stay afloat. He needed her just as much she needed him.

He caressed her cheek and made a solemn vow, returning a tender kiss. "I will stay with you forever."

The woman saw him just as alluring as he saw her. Where she was light, he was pale. One sun kissed, the other moon bathed. The woman had known him in life, followed him carefully, and discovered every facet of his personality and soul. She understood his desires and his wants. And even in his living death, she found that who he was had not changed. He was still the man that she had fallen in love with.

Her smile turned yielding against his mouth. "You are my _hjarta_, and no matter the distance, I will always be with you." Carefully, she shifted even closer to him, draped a leg over one of his.

They swam in their affection, giving themselves completely to each other…

And thus, Lillian knew these two were soul mates. She longed to be that woman, caught in his strong arms—his and only his. But something told her there was no need to wish. What if she _was_ this woman? It was her, and he was _hers_. They had been long destined for each other, so there was no need for uncertainty.

Yes, now she knew. _Now_ she realized.

But as she called for him, to tell him of her revelation, she was jarred by an entirely unwanted noise. It interrupted her, straight out of her delusions, and she floundered on the cusp of her sleep.

Lilly fought hard to stay asleep and overcame with great disappointment. She realized where she really was, the pillow over her head having fallen. She heard the knock again. There were more voices this time, she vaguely recognized. She was too loath to answer them.

When the banging persisted, the girl finally managed to pull herself out of the bed and drowsily made her way to the door.

She rubbed at her half-closed eyes and flicked her long loose hair over a shoulder. "Hi…" she yawned.

"What, did you take a bottle of sleeping pills or something?" asked Luke in his anxious concern. He was clearly flustered, for he had been trying to wake her for twenty minutes now, until his brother and Marylin showed up. Marylin was standing behind the twins, her face contorted with irritation and unease as well.

They had just been attacked by a demon and Lilly had taken the time to snooze.

Luke squinted at the blonde's chin where something glistened. "Were you drooling, Lil?"

"What?" She lifted her hand to her chin and quickly wiped away any of the evidence. "No, of course not. I don't drool."

"Lil," Joshua asked as he stepped forward. "Why did you sleep in so late? You went to bed at eight o'clock last night."

"I was tired."

Joshua looked at his twin before back to the girl before them. "It's noon…"

The blonde let her head tip back as her face scrunched up in annoyance. "I'm sorry I slept late, but I'm just really tired and want to go back to bed, okay?"

Marylin shoved past the boys and tightly informed Lillian: "We were attacked by the demon, Lillian. Just now. And Doctor O'Connell got involved. Then Castiel came and saved the day, but if he hadn't, my ass and Josh's would've been gone."

"What?" said Luke, who looked at his brother in alarm. "You didn't call me?"

"I couldn't," Joshua replied with a shrug. "It had me pinned against the wall. I couldn't move."

"Wait, why did you even leave? We were supposed to stay together you said, Mar," Lilly said. "You said that Castiel had told us not to separate. Why did you guys leave?"

Marylin crossed her arms while regarding her partner.

"When O'Connell called, I knew something was wrong, and when we got there, we found that the demon had her. It used her as bait to get to us. But thankfully the demon's gone now, so I guess you can just go back to sleep."

Lillian felt her own anger rise and instead she questioned: "What is your problem, Marylin? I came back to you."

"You make it sound like you hadn't wanted to come back," said Marylin with renewed resentment. "Well, I'm better now, and the danger's over."

Castiel told them to stay together, but what if it was just not possible?

Lillian, on the other hand, wasn't being resentful but _pleading_. "Of course I wanted to come back, but you weren't exactly making that an easy thing for me to do."

Why couldn't her friend understand?

"What's going on here?" demanded Joshua suddenly.

Now it was more than obvious that he and his brother hadn't been told everything. But Marylin ignored them, deciding not to elaborate. Her cousins didn't need to know. She stepped closer to Lilly through the doorway and kept her voice cold.

"Clearly you aren't doing well without _Eric_, and I don't want to feel guiltier, so maybe you should just go back to him. Before he comes here."

"Eric?" said Luke.

"We don't want him jealous," Marylin added. She felt betrayed and couldn't suppress it any longer. Eric wasn't the type to share, and there was nothing either of them could do now.

Lillian took a step back away from her friend as though she'd been slapped. "I came back for _you_!" she practically yelled again. "I don't deserve this."

"Lillian, who is Eric?" Joshua tried, but he was also ignored too.

Marylin followed Lilly into the room, clenched her jaw to keep tears from flooding her gaze.

"Eric's her boyfriend. Listen, I know you'd rather be with him, Lilly, so just go back to him. He can take you away somewhere again, somewhere far away—maybe Europe. You always wanted to go there."

Lillian was unable to get herself to stand up to Marylin and continued walking backwards.

"You want me to go to him?" Her own eyes were swimming with unshed tears. "I wouldn't have come back if I didn't want to be with you."

The twins cautiously followed, worried but not knowing what to do. They kept a distance and watched the girls, gave each other uncertain looks. The women looked like they both had a case of PMS and would erupt in sobs any second.

Marylin scoffed and shook her head, glowering bitterly.

"I see it on your face, Lillian. I even saw it back at the hospital," she said, and her voice was flat and soft. "How much longer will you stand to be away from him, and how long will he let you? I think we know the answer."

Luke didn't like the sound of that and said, "Where the hell does he keep you?"

Marylin was already backtracking to the door. Tears now streamed down both her and Lilly's faces.

"I can stay away as long as I want!" Lilly yelled.

"Who is he, Lillian?" Joshua asked more forcefully. "Marylin, who is Eric? Tell us the whole truth."

Marylin looked back at Lilly and raised her brows. Perhaps they couldn't evade the truth this time. But when Lillian still looked like she couldn't, her partner sighed and decided to finally say it herself.

"She's in love with one of _them_—a vampire. We met him and another during our hunt." Because Marylin knew her cousins would set off to kill Eric then and there, out of unexpected sympathy, she then added, to redeem the bloodsuckers. "They…helped us kill the maenad."

But the boys looked at them like they had multiple heads, anyway, and gaped with a mix of horror, disbelief, and betrayal…and more disbelief. Lilly looked guilty as charged.

"Lillian, you what-?" began Luke in a heated fit of incredulity.

"You're with a-" started Joshua at the same time.

"A _vampire_!" the blonde woman yelled as she briefly squeezed her eyes shut, tears squeezing from the corners. "Eric is a vampire!"

"Lil…_why_?"

"I've tried to understand, but I suppose we never will," said Marylin, and wiped her own tears away. "Just leave, it guys. I know he's a vampire, but he hasn't drained her so far, so maybe there _is_ something there."

She was reluctant to admit that, and pursed her lips unhappily, but it was mostly because she was tired. She was _so_ sick of the chaos that she was near leaving herself.

"_Something there_?" repeated Luke. He looked between them and rounded on them. "Christ, are you insane?" He directed the question to both. "Lillian, if that son of a bitch, so help me God, is-!"

"Is what, Luke?" Lilly asked. "Is biting me? Feeding on me?" She let the questions hang before answering, really wanting all of his talk to end, because that's all Luke was: _talk_. "What are you going to do, Luke? Are you going to try and kill him? You think that will make it all better?"

"Lil, calm down," Joshua suggested, though he was just as disturbed as his brother.

"No! I will _not_ calm down! I'm done calming down!" In a fit of rage, she pointed at Marylin. "I came back the very moment I heard something was wrong with Marylin, but from the very moment she opened her eyes, she's done nothing but condemn me with snide and bitter little comments even though she's the _biggest_ hypocrite in this room!"

"I am not a hypocrite!" Marylin trudged to her and hissed. "Don't you dare bring Scott up again, or we're going to have even more shit hit the fan, you hear me? I am not a hypocrite, Lillian. Scott isn't here, but Eric is in this very town, and if we didn't tell Joshua and Luke, they'd find out another way."

"So we want to ignore the fact that you're now dating a _shifter_?" Lillian replied, her eyes icy.

"Wait, what?" Joshua was incredulous. They left them for a single year and all of this had happened? Luke blinked.

Marylin's face fell and she stared at Lilly for a long while before finding her voice. "Who—who told you?"

"_Screw you_, Marylin!" Lillian spun and grabbed her duffle bag. Frantically and without regard to anyone else in the room, she began to pack. She'd get another room in another hotel, without them, without him, without anyone!

And then she'd sleep. Oh, sweet sleep.

"Where are you going?" Joshua asked, now worried.

"Away from all of you."

"What? Lilly, no, you're not going anywhere." When Luke saw Marylin go for the door, he nearly lunged for her arm. "No one's going anywhere! You guys left before, and it sure as hell isn't going to happen again!"

"Yes, it is, Luke." Marylin yanked her arm back. "I'm tired, okay? I'm going to go back to Bon Temps, where it's quiet and everyone's oblivious and everything moves a snail's pace."

Sam was nothing like the fangs, nor the werewolves. He wasn't anything like anything she knew, and right now that's all that she wanted to be around. She wanted to be among the hillbillies and their small-town ways indefinitely.

Lillian threw a pair of jeans into her bag.

"I can't stay where I'm not wanted. _Marylin_ says she's tired? Well, I'm tired, too. I'm tired of being judged and trying to be forgiven. It's obvious it's not going to happen, so why should I keep trying?"

"Mar, come on. We didn't even have a chance to have that vacation you wanted… Maybe that's all we need?" said Josh to try to pacify his cousin.

"If you two want to come back with me, then you're welcome to." Marylin was already out the door, not waiting for their answer. Luke watched her go but stayed, frowned deeply at Lillian, whom he took several steps to.

"Lil, come on…" Even as he said it, the idea of some vampire having his hands all over her made his blood boil. "Lilly, I won't let you do this again."

Joshua made sure that he had everything in hand and then quickly followed after Marylin.

Lilly didn't look back at him or Luke and kept packing. "What won't you let me do again, Luke? _Leave_?"

Luke grabbed her hands to stop her and looked her dead in the eye. "Yeah, I'm not going to let you."

It wasn't about the vampire—it was about _her_. He couldn't stand them apart any longer.

Lilly froze at his touch. "You heard Marylin, Luke. All I want to do is get back to Eric. I don't want to be around any of you anymore apparently. I guess I only care about getting back to him."

There was a derision in her voice as she spoke—it was a new development since the last time she and Luke had seen each other a year ago. A little white in the face, he slowly let her go after a beat or two.

"Is that true?" he asked with a flat tone. "Lilly, _do_ you really want to do that? You were gone when we first got here, and I guess…I see it on you, too. Last time I saw you look like that was when you were with—" here he swallowed and gave a weak chuckle. "With me."

"Yeah, but all good things come to an end, right?" Lilly asked with a weary smirk. After a moment, she sighed and grudgingly she ceased her packing to sit on the edge of the bed. "This wasn't supposed to happen…" she admitted sullenly as she looked at the floor.

She didn't regret what she had experienced with Eric, but she did regret what it had done to her family.

Luke watched her by the dresser, unhappy still but not as angry. He could never stay angry at Lillian.

"Well, good," he said at length. "'Cause if you were trying to be like all those fa—girls who, uh…were looking for that kind of thing, then I would have to beat some sense back into you. You aren't like them," he repeated. Firmly yet also apprehensively.

He took a step towards her and peered at her downcast face. "Right, Lil?"

"Please tell me you're not calling me a Fangbanger, Luke, or I might have to knock some sense into _you_."

Though her words were joking, there was hurt in her eyes. These people were her family, which meant they were supposed to support her, not ride her and scare her away. Each of them was all they had, and though they had a split a year before, they would always be a family.

"Then tell me what you are, Lilly," Luke asked of her, but managed to remain somewhat level for the moment. "Just tell me what makes this different than everything you and I and everybody else has seen and heard. 'Cause I don't know how you expected us to just be calm about it."

"I wasn't expecting you to be calm, which is why you're just finding out about it now, but I was hoping that after you got over the initial shock, you might hear me out. Give me a chance instead of calling me a fang banger and calling it a day."

She truly cared for Eric, but if she had to choose between him and her family—she'd walk away from them both. She couldn't have one without the other.

"But okay… Contrary to what you might think… He's never glamoured me."

Actually, there had been that one time, but that was when they'd first met, so it didn't count.

Luke arched a very skeptical brow. "How do you know? Is that what he told you?"

"Our entire relationship is based off of trust, Luke. If he ever did," the girl shrugged. "It would be over."

"And you don't…think he might've just glamoured you to think that?" the boy said. "You know they deceive, Lillian, and he could be deceiving you. How many of them have we met before? How many of them have we staked for terrorizing civilians?"

Wordlessly, Lillian reached into her pocket and pulled out a very small leather pouch. She held it out for him to take.

He felt to see what it was and then looked inside, smelling the sharp herb. "Vervain, okay. And does he know you have it?"

"No…he doesn't, and really, I think I need to tell him." It wasn't completely right in her mind that she had this failsafe. She felt like it meant she didn't trust him.

Luke gave the vervain back to her, looking to her as if she had another head.

"Wait, what? You're going to go back to him?" After reuniting with her family, Lilly planned to leave them again? Was Marylin right? "Lillian," he was incredulous again. "Lillian, we just got back together!"

She tucked the vervain back into her pocket and said: "I didn't mean now. I meant when I see him again. I don't want to lose you—_any_ of you, Luke. I've missed you guys too much to just get up and leave, even if Mar doesn't believe that."

And Lilly meant it, too. She didn't want to leave them. The problem was that even though she didn't want to acknowledge it—she wanted Eric, too. She missed him fiercely and it had only been a few days since she'd last seen him. "I don't want the group to split up again. I don't want to lose you again."

"Okay, so…why don't we go on that vacation Josh was talking about?" Luke offered on a whim. "Let's get out of here. Since we're in this hick state already…let's go to New Orleans or something. They got Mardi Gras like every weekend, don't they?" He just didn't understand, but that had always been the problem.

"I thought Marylin wanted to stay in Bon Temps."

"Oh. Right…" Frowning slightly, Luke glanced at the door. "Okay, well how about you and me go?" It would get her away from the vampire, and Luke wouldn't have to stake him. "We won't be too far, and when Mar lightens up, they can join us."

"You want to go?" she asked with a small laugh. Maybe she should. It would be fun and a lot like old times. Even surprising herself with her speed, she nodded.

"Alright. Let's go see New Orleans. We can leave in the morning. How does that sound?" She loved Luke dearly and, aside from Marylin, he was her closest friend. If there was one thing the boy was good at, it was cheering her up and making her laugh.

Luke grinned, despite his remaining aggravations, and gave the girl a light shake and squeeze on her shoulder.

"Awesome. We got a plan then. Are you…still going to take your nap now?" His stomach gave a groan to sound his hunger and he looked a little hopeful as he took a stride to the door. "'Cause I saw a burger joint down the street."

"When do you not see burger joints?" she groaned, let herself fall back onto her bed. "You probably dream about them, with dancing little French fries and singing chocolate shakes." Lilly buried her face in her pillow and sighed with a smile. "But a chocolate shake does sound good…"

Though she was only wearing shorts and a tank top, the blonde forced herself up and grabbed her jacket as she stepped into her tennis shoes. "You're buying."

"Sure, but you'll owe me," Luke warned playfully, and both of them left the room to find the remaining day much like their brightened moods.

* * *

"So… what do they have to do around here? Movies, put-put?" Josh was standing in the Inn room doorway. He munched on some sour skittles that he'd picked up at the gas station. "Cow tipping?"

The entire drive from Shreveport, Marylin had been silent. The one time Joshua had turned on the music, he'd turned it off a minute later. Rather than breaking the silence, it had only served to make the awkwardness more pronounced. And it prolonged a long moment or two until Marylin seemed to register his question and shrugged, in the middle of putting away her things and rummaging through them for something she didn't seem to find. She gave up and just lingered over her bag.

"Or gator wrestling. I think they do that here too," she said dully.

"Oh, that could be interesting," the boy replied with a grin.

"I'm sorry that you're bored."

Shaking his head, he walked over to his cousin and plopped down onto her bed. "I didn't mean that I was bored. Really I was just trying to get you to smile."

Her weak attempt managed a grimace instead.

"It's been bad day," Marylin reminded pointedly with a heavy sigh. "And how it's not affecting you as much it is me, I don't know. I—I'm still _reeling_."

"I can understand that…" All he wanted to do was cheer her up.

"Well, maybe a night-in is in order. We could grab a couple comedies and a pizza if you want. Children of the Corn? The Shining? Big Momma's House?"

"Maybe. A bit later," she said a little dismissively, and turned to pace and crossed her arms.

She couldn't let herself cheer up when there was such a whirlwind in her head. What happened earlier to them, what the demon said, and what Castiel said was just too profound. It unsettled her and she didn't like to feel that way.

"Did you really believe that guy, Joshua?" she asked. "All that bullshit he said?"

"Well, if it's bullshit, then why should I believe him?" the boy pointed out. Then he shrugged. "I don't know if I believe him, but I do want to know more. What if what he said was true? Maybe he _did_ know our parents."

"And he's an _angel_?" Marylin said, scoffing. "Since when do they exist?" Where were Castiel's wings anyhow?

"Well, why not? Demons exist."

"So? Are unicorns real? The Easter bunny? We sure as hell never had any proof of any of them!"

The woman was so adamantly atheist that nothing would sway her from her belief—not even if Castiel healed her or killed the demon. He wasn't an angel. He was something else. It was the wholly unwanted reminder of their parents that had first set her off.

"Bobby never even told us of the guy," she also affirmed. "If angels existed, then wouldn't he have told us?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Seems like Bobby's only ever told us what he wanted to." But Josh knew that he really wasn't going to get anywhere with this approach. "Okay, so angels aren't real. But if he's not an angel, what is he?"

Marylin turned away and grumbled, "I…don't know. A different being."

Though the odds pointed in favor of it being true, as she wracked her brain for explanations, she remained stubborn. If angels were real, then that meant there was a God, and _that_ meant God was a real dick.

"Well, if you want, we can head to the library tomorrow to check it out. Maybe call up Bobby and see what he has to say."

Maybe that would give her a little peace.

She was presently too anxious to agree on the former idea, so she immediately welcomed the latter.

"Let's call Bobby," she decided, and grabbed her phone. "We can get a straight answer then." Marylin went to sit beside her cousin, entirely serious and resolute, and put the call on speaker.

Joshua was always slightly uneasy when she was like this, very prone to argumentation if she didn't hear what she wanted.

"O-kay…" Brows creased in worry, he watched as she punched in the number.

When five rings had passed, both had thought it would go straight to voice mail without their friend picking up. But, as luck would have it, the grizzly, old voice sounded on the other end of the line before it cut off.

"Bobby? It's Marylin and Josh," he said with a grin.

"Joshua?" the old man repeated in slight shock. "I thought you and Luke were in California!"

"They were, Bobby. We met up a couple days ago," answered Marylin with a little less enthusiasm. "We're still in Louisiana."

"What? Why?"

"We're taking a break, we decided, and we were already here, so I guess we didn't leave," she explained.

"Well, that's not like you," Bobby commented rather frankly, before switching his phone to his other ear. It vaguely sounded like he was outside somewhere. "But does that mean you kids finally got your heads on straight? Where's the rest of the brood? Josh, where's Luke?"

"Luke's with Lilly. They're fine," he assured, not really knowing how much of that was true.

And Bobby didn't seem to quite believe him as he grunted and frowned suspiciously. "Uh-huh. Where's Scott?"

"Scott's fine, too," Marylin lied quickly, averted Joshua's eyes. "We're not back together again, but we're all fine. We actually called about something…"

"'Course you did."

The old man grumbled something incoherent under his breath and got inside his Chevy Chevelle, where he was by a gas station miles north from them. But having been their guardian for all of their lives, he was certainly worried. He was worried each time they called them, and could tell when they were lying or if something was up, though he projected his concern in the way they were used to. Bobby loved them, but he was strict. He only hoped they didn't do anything stupid.

"What happened?"

Marylin took in a breath and stalled for a few beats. "Bobby, do you know of a man named Castiel?"

Bobby was silent all of a sudden, caught by such surprise from her inquiry that his hand stopped on its way to the ignition of his car. The two on the other line thought they lost him.

They glanced at each other and then Josh tentatively called out, "Bobby?"

It took another moment for the old man snap out, and they heard what sounded like minor alarm in his voice.

"Did he find you?"

"Yeah he did. We got into a bit of a bind this morning and he got us out. He said he knew our parents." Joshua glanced over at his cousin and shrugged. At least they knew that Castiel had said the truth about that: He _was_ in fact an acquaintance of Bobby's. "Is that true, Bobby?"

Marylin's anxiety surfaced on her face and only intensified when they heard their mentor's answer:

"Yeah…it's true. The bastard knew 'em, but I haven't seen him in years, not since you guys were toddlers. Wonder why the hell he showed up now."

"Bobby, is he really what he said he was?" Her palms sweaty, Marylin swallowed and stared far past the glowing screen of her phone, dreading to hear the truth. "Is he really an…_angel_?"

Again Bobby paused, but they didn't have to prompt him this time. "Yeah, Mar, it's true. He's one of them. He's far from a fat, little cherub, I know, but yeah, he's the real deal."

She was silent.

"Some of them are pricks actually… There haven't been sightings in a long while."

With a sigh, Josh let his head fall back, his shoulders momentarily slumping. "He said he's been watching over us because he promised our parents, Bobby. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, he might've said something about that, but it's a load of horseshit 'cause it was me and Lee Ann who'd been taking care of you, not him. I told you he hasn't shown his ass since you were babies."

"A demon attacked us, Bobby. Maybe that's why he showed up," drawled Marylin, presuming that was the reason. "He killed it..."

The old man nearly snapped at them. "Why didn't you call me earlier? A demon went after you?"

"Yeah, it went after Marylin," Josh explained, but quickly continued to prevent him from yelling again. "We had a small…argument when we got back, so we forgot to call."

Bobby dismissed the excuse with a grunt and instead asked, "What did the demon say? Did it tell you anything?"

"He said something about how we'd get what was coming to us." Josh glanced at his cousin and again shrugged. "Why would it have said that, Bobby?"

"Uh," Bobby paused a second, uncertain. "Well, you know how they hate us hunters. But it might've known your parents and that's why it went after you. Your dads might've hunted it long ago, and it got away from them."

"So it attacked us out of revenge?" said Marylin, after finding her composure again. "That's what it told us, and then when Castiel appeared, it said more mumbo-jumbo about how something that happened before, and Castiel told the demon that it was over. But what is 'it'?"

"Well, you know how rare demons are now, kids," Bobby reminded. "And they aren't too happy about that. But listen, I need to go now. I gotta meet up with Hank soon. We're going to the range. Why don't I'll call you again in a bit?" The old man wasn't telling them everything, but the kids couldn't do anything about it. "But if another demon attacks you, or Castiel comes back, don't hesitate to call me again yourselves, okay? Otherwise, we'll talk later."

"Okay, Bobby… Bye." Marylin gave Joshua a doubtful look.

Joshua closed the phone. "Castiel _was_ telling the truth."

His cousin abruptly stood, left her phone in her place on the mattress, and crossed her arms to pace across the room. Yes, Castiel was apparently telling the truth, but that didn't mean she was happy. He and everything that came with him managed to successfully open old, unwanted wounds, and she hated him for it.

Not quite sure what to do, Joshua stood and gave a soft sigh. "Why don't I head out and get that pizza? Maybe some food in our stomachs would help."

"Sure…"

Giving her one last look, the boy nodded and left, closing the door gently behind him.

* * *

"You have returned then?" Odin's voice boomed throughout the hall when he saw the blonde woman's approach. All of his warriors fell silent, watched the scene unfold before them.

Svava, her shoulders unbowed with stubborn pride walked through them, never taking her eyes from her master until she at last reached the foot of his chair. At that point, she dropped her eyes to floor at his feet and bowed low.

"It has been seven days, Svava. The time that I gave you to recover my warrior." Odin's one-eyed gaze looked the woman over briefly before resting atop of her bowed head. "And yet I find myself asking where he is. I do not see him with you."

"I have not found him, my Lord. Again he has evaded me."

Rage shot through the ancient god. "How is this possible?" he roared. Spittle clung to the fibrous hairs of his beard and mustache.

"I found him but once during my search. Yet before I could act, he was once again stolen from me by his maker." Having never been given leave to stand, she remained in her bowed state.

"Who is the soulless fiend?" questioned her master, and he leaned forward in his chair to regard her more closely. "He is merely one of the damned!"

"As is the one I seek, my Lord. They are cunning and I fear underestimating them would be a mistake."

"Does his maker appear to have long walked the earth among the mortals?" Odin presumed.

Svava nodded. "Long for the eyes of mortals, yes."

The god sighed loudly, causing a wind to stir about his great hall. He reclined his great frame back into the fur cushions he rested. His crow squawked, and Odin had no choice but to resign.

"Then if he goes beyond our land, and his maker is as sly as he seems, you will never find the warrior, for other forces govern their world, ones that will allow him to further elude you. Your warrior has been taken, and I am afraid a replacement will need to be found." It was a great loss, but Odin would not lament for long, and fetched one of his subjects to bring him another Valkyrie. The great god waved his hand for Svava to stand.

In her bed back at the Shreveport motel, Lillian's brows drew together in concern and her hands clutched at her sheet. A light breeze from the window she'd left open stirred the blonde bangs that drifted over her cheek. Even its gentle caress didn't soothe her turbulent slumber.

"Norðmaðr…" she whispered ever-so-softly. Lost in her dreams, they had become so vivid that they stretched past the mere confines of her mind to manifest themselves physically through her movements as mumblings.

A shadow moved swiftly passed the foot of her bed and around to her side, hovering over her, watching and listening…

"_My Lord, no_!"

Svava stood as she was given leave to, but she didn't continue right away, too shocked by her own brashness.

"I can find him. There is no finer warrior. No warrior better suited for your table than Norðmaðr." The Valkyrie stood where she was before Odin, refused to step back even as one of her raven-haired sisters-in-arms entered the hall behind her.

Their god stared at Svava sharply and waited for her to yield under his gaze. She did not. And then he gave out a loud, brisk laugh.

"You are most stubborn of my maidens, Svava. You always seek to best your sisters, do you not? Or have you now fallen in love with this warrior, and cannot bear the thought of him lost to that dark world. There are other mortals that might prove themselves to be just as worthy."

"Then allow my sisters to honor you by bringing them to your side," she said with a bowed head. "I have found the _best_ of the warriors and only seek to greaten your strength by bringing him to you."

With her head lowered, her eyes were hidden from his sight and thus anything else that should have been added to that truth remained in secret.

Odin motioned for the raven-haired Valkyrie to wait, and then took a moment to consider. Svava has never disappointed him—she has been most loyal and fierce. Their preparation for Ragnarök has moved swift because of her, so perhaps she would succeed in retrieving Norðmaðr. But she would have to go to great lengths.

"If you believe you can reclaim him, then you will, my Svava—you have never failed me—but the task will be difficult and long. He will not be given up easily, and you may have to battle his maker. There is a way to find Norðmaðr, and I have never bestowed such great a charge upon any of my servants. You may have to relinquish something of yours, but it is the only way. Even so, do you still wish to find him?"

"That is my only wish, my Lord," the golden Valkyrie replied, not a sliver of doubt reflected anywhere on her person.

She regarded her master with the utmost of dedication and determination. She would find the warrior, no matter the lengths she would have to go.

"Command me, Master, and I shall never cease in my quest," Svava swore.

Lillian's face relaxed as she spoke, resigned and at peace with the oath she was swearing to: "What must I give up, my Lord, so that I may complete this charge?"

Eric, who listened to her, felt his expression fade with alarm, eyes widening. She spoke his native Swedish, utterly perfect with her pronunciation and inflection. She was speaking as if she spoke it all her life, when he knew this to be false. The man seized her arm to shake her from her delusions, but she would not wake.

Odin descended down his throne and stood towering before the fierce Svava, regarding her most gravely. His words echoed in Lilly's head, daunting and profound.

"Svava, to find this warrior, you must surrender your immortality and become…_human_."

His words landed on her like the blow of a sledgehammer and Svava took a step back in shock. She had said that she would do whatever it took, but she had not considered that that would be the price.

"_Human_?"

Lillian was shaken back and forth by Eric's grasp, and yet still sleep tried to cling to her .

"Human… human…" she muttered over and over again as consciousness struggled for dominance.

"Lillian!" he implored. His voice was faint among the louder echoes of the great hall, as Odin's form hovered over Svava, so large that he appeared a giant.

Everything around her loomed—the heavy stone walls which reflected an unseen fire, the armor and fur that hung, the other warriors and her sisters, the other gods. They stared at Svava, as suddenly crossed her face, and her surroundings then warped and vanished altogether, to be replaced by a thick forest and a clearing, where she saw humans.

A Norse village, where the air was thick with gloom and wretchedness. She walked among them, watching the other souls pass through time, die, and then be reborn.

And so did she, observing scenes of what appeared to be her own lives. Time went on, and the lands changed with it, and so did she, and the people around her. She tried to catch sight of all of the images, but they were too swift, and she protested unhappily, and Eric grew more concerned.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, searching her whimpering face. "Lillian, wake up! Wake up!"

Finally, his voice penetrated her dream, and blinking, her eyes opened. Held in his grasp, she could only look up at him in momentary stun.

"Eric? What… what are you doing here?"

It was hard for her to concentrate on his face, so fresh where the images in her mind. Theories abounded, but of course she didn't tell him.

"I thought… Why are you here?" she asked. Her stomach clenched in longing at the sight of him and tenderness sparked in her eyes.

"You were gone too long," Eric said bitterly, and then let her go, for he was still too stunned. "You were dreaming, Lillian. You were…muttering in your sleep. I heard what you said—_everything_." He rose from her bed to stand back and regarded her guardedly. "Your imagination has gone too far."

She had barely said two sentences and already he was accusing her of her imagination running off.

"I'm sorry—_what_?" Carefully gathering her hair over one shoulder, she placed her feet on the floor and looked up at him in confusion. Though she didn't stand, she was ready to.

"I haven't seen you nights and the first thing you say to me is that my imagination _has gone too far_?"

"You were muttering!" Eric all but yelled. "In…Swedish, and speaking of things that you no doubt read in my books. Tell me, is this your way of mocking me? I let you see my collections because you had showed an interest in my culture, and I gladly welcomed it. But little did I know that you would become _obsessed_."

He took offense from this, but this also should've been unhealthy for a human.

Now Lillian stood up in her own annoyance, affronted by his accusation. "Eric, I was only able to read one of your books when we were at your home and even then I barely got more than a couple chapters into it!"

Feeling too warm now, for her dreams had obviously been restless, the girl went to the window and pushed it further open.

"I read that book when I wasn't exploring your forest and looking at your artifacts and falling asleep in the sun. If you want to blame me of something, then blame me of not being studious enough! And _Swedish_?" She looked back at him with ignited anger. It ruined all of the repair work that Luke had been able to lay that day. "Perhaps I should take it as a compliment that you think I can learn your language in three days time."

"No!" Eric dismissed at once, seethed just as Lilly was, as he rounded on her. "That is not possible, not for anyone, especially a human," he added without being able to help it. "There is something else at work here…" The vampire glared at her, trying to make sense of it. "You said something about a task, a charge. You addressed someone as your lord. _Who_?" he asked.

And in Swedish repeated what she had said: "_Vad skall jag ge upp_?" (Which meant, "What shall I give up?"). Then he returned to English and warned, "That is what you said. Do not pretend to be oblivious, Lillian."

"Go away, Eric," she told him suddenly. "I tried to talk to you about this once before and you all but bit my head off." Turning her back on him, she grabbed her jacket from where it was draped over the back of the chair.

Since she could not literally banish him, Eric did not leave, but he did back away with a disgruntled growl.

"Because you were speaking about nonsense," he said. "Now tell me why you'd do this. Why the hell are you behaving like this?"

Lillian spun to face him and yelled, "I am not a child, Eric, so do not treat me like one! And guess what, it wasn't nonsense to _me_. This has been bothering me for days. I tried to turn to you and you shot me down for it. You lost your chance."

His jaw clenched and his eyes gleamed. He took a stride to cross the distance between them.

"Well, now I see how serious it has become, so you _will_ tell me," he reiterated, and then did what she never thought he'd do.

He commanded her with his influence.

Blanching suddenly, Lilly took a step back and subsequently something dropped from her coat that she had been holding. The small satchel.

Eric saw it and lost concentration and reached for it. At once, he sneered. "What's this?" But he knew and bore his fangs.

"You didn't—" she whispered as she stared at him, betrayal on her face. "I don't know you… I don't know you at all."

The man clenched the vervain tight in his hand and then threw it angrily to the side. The pouch burst and spilled all over the floor.

"It seems that I don't know you either," he spat, his teeth glinting sharply beneath his lips. For a moment, Lilly thought he would lunge at her, but Eric then stepped back. His own hurt surfaced on his face. Offense overcame it.

The vampire flung open the door and, after one last, resentful look, flew off into the night.

Rather than crumple onto her bed, Lillian watched as the leaves from the pouch settled onto the floor. She couldn't stay there. No…

There was only one place for her to go. With tears streaming down her face, the blonde pulled on her tennis shoes, grabbed her keys off the nightstand and ran from the hotel.

. . .

**So where will Lilly go? I realize some of you may be angry with the way things wrapped up... But you should know by now that all shit that hits the fan is always redeemed. Because for now the bigger events are Castiel and now this fight with Lilly and Eric, it'll be mostly them next chapter. Also you should know that with True Blood, events move from one day to the next. No days are skipped. And nights are written like long days, so that the vampires could come out. Days are just for humans. You get it.**

**Remember:**

**- **_Every thing that happens happens for a reason. _

_- Yes, Marylin pissed me off too. She takes after her father, Dean Winchester. She just wants her best friend back. And she was beat up by a demon who sprung up stuff involving her parents, which is an incredibly sore subject for all of them. Eric is consuming Lilly's life. _

_- Have you seen _City of Angels_? Because Castiel and Evelyn return next chapter. _

_- You will be absolutely blown away when the Viking love birds are forced to apologize to each other. We had to make Eric guilty for something... Otherwise Lilly would just be screwed with the Vervain._

_- What do you think of Svava? It's more than evident now. I've said a long while ago that Eric doesn't fall for regular humans. There has to be more. So...?_

_- I suppose you can imagine Odin as the one from the new movie _Thor_. _Ragnarök_ is the apocalyptic war that the Norse gods awaited. _Valhalla_, not sure if it was mentioned yet, is their kingdom - like the Greek's mount Olympus. _

_- Picture of Bobby in my profile, along with the clip of Castiel._

**** If you got any other thoughts, comments, answers to any points I brought up. Criticisms. Complaints. Please REVIEW. Favorites are great, but I want to know your thoughts too! ****

**Thanks for reading, as always :)**


	20. I want You

**Should be a juicy wrap-up of events. Enjoy.**

**. . .**

I want you  
I want you so bad  
I want you,  
I want you so bad  
It's driving me mad, it's driving me mad.

~The Beatles

. . .

Sitting on the couch with one arm around Sookie, Bill read the newspaper. It was one of the rare moments that Jessica was out and Bon Temps was quiet, allowing them blissful downtime. At least, that would have been the case if the bubbly blonde he loved didn't have wedding bells on the brain. Spread out all around her, including on his lap, were wedding magazines and articles in all shapes and sizes. Sookie had been methodically going through them for ideas and marking the things she wanted. Always the coddling type, Bill just smiled when she asked him something and continued to read his paper. It would have been quite the normal scene for any modern day American couple had it not been in the dead of night. The fact that a car was also pulling up the drive obscured the scene as well.

Hearing engine, Bill sat forward and placed his paper on his lap as he focused on the sound.

"It seems we have company," he said rather ominously.

Somehow, he managed to not drop a single wedding article on the floor while he gracefully stood. He scooped them up and handed them to Sookie. She saw through the window the blonde that hurried from the car and to their door. The waitress rose at once to go let the girl in.

"Oh, it's Lilly, Bill. I told her to come if something—"

As the door opened, the pair saw a very distraught Lilly. They could tell she had been crying and she tried hard not to burst into tears again, but it was proving to be difficult even for someone usually as strong as her. She was alone, which made her sudden arrival all the more disconcerting.

"Lilly, what happened?" Sookie let her in and worriedly looked her over. "You don't look okay."

"That's because I'm not," she replied with a soft quiver in her voice. Then she shook her head and briefly looked away to regain her composure. "It all started with those stupid dreams again, and when I refused to tell him what they were…"

Bill looked the troubled young woman over though allowed Sookie to do the talking.

"He tried to glamour me, Sook…" Lillian continued. "I—I couldn't believe it. He actually tried to _force_ me to tell him!" She knew that Eric was both strong and willful, always getting his way, but she stupidly never thought that he'd break that unspoken vow between them.

Alarmed, Sookie glanced at Bill. "Eric tried to _force_ you, Lilly? How did you stop him? Where is he now?" They should've known that something like this would happen.

"He left… You see..." Now Lilly looked guiltily at Bill. Then she quickly shifted her focus away from them both. "I happened to have some vervain in my coat pocket—not for him!" she said quickly as she spun back to them. "Well, it was originally given to me for him, but I had it on me because I didn't trust the other vampires that I was subsequently around more… It was never for him." Her face fell again and her shoulders slumped. "I didn't…"

Bill never took his shrewd gaze off the hunter but he explained to Sookie:

"Vervain blocks our attempts to glamour."

He could understand why Eric might have been upset at finding out his human companion didn't trust him, but Bill could _also_ understand, having known all of the vampires that Lilly spoke of, why she would want to carry some.

It was hard to trust his kind.

Sookie looked between them as she took a moment to let the information settle.

"Okay, so he saw it, got mad and just…left? Where were you still in Shreveport? You weren't in _Fangtasia_, were you?" Bill stepped back to usher the girls into the family room where they could be more comfortable.

"Well, that's the thing. I hadn't seen him in days," Lilly admitted. "We had a small fight, and then when Marylin got hurt, I left him. So…I was at a motel in Shreveport and tonight I fell asleep. The next thing I know, he's shaking me awake."

Dejectedly, the girl sat down onto the couch.

"From your dream," Sookie said to verify. She took Lilly's hands to calm her, listened to her every word with concern. Bill sat on the loveseat and his girlfriend looked at him briefly to find his own apprehension.

"That's what he said, but his tone bothered me…and I turned a little stubborn. Plus, the first time I tried talking to him about it, we fought, so I didn't want to."

"Was your dream more intense then, Lilly? Do you remember anythin'? I'm glad you came, but this time you're goin' to have to tell me what you saw, if you want us to help. Were…they worse?"

Lillian looked at them both, unsure of whether to tell them or not. "I don't think I should… If Eric got this upset, then clearly it's something that bothers him."

"Lillian," Bill started as kindly as he could. He leaned forward, braced his elbows on his knees and smiling gently. "Your honor is to be commended for trying to keep Eric's secrets his own, however, it seems that this has progressed to a level that you can no longer keep that silence."

The girl nodded hesitantly. "Okay… Well I don't remember all of it, but there's a woman and she seems _so_ otherworldly. She keeps seeing this man that she calls her master, and—I've seen Eric. Before he was turned."

Lillian's last words had Bill's eyes widening.

Sookie remembered what Lilly told her last, back at the hospital. "You think you're seeing Eric's past, right? Bill, is that possible? From taking a vampire's blood? I've never seen _your_ past."

As usual, Bill took a moment to decide, but he never took his eyes from Lillian. "I have never heard of it occurring, but Eric is very old…" The look of indecision on his face, however, said that he did not believe it possible.

"So I'm just imagining it? He accused me of mocking him! Said I was talking in my sleep. Why would I mock him in my sleep?" The thought had Lilly's annoyance flaring again.

"Only _you_ know what you're seein', Lilly." Sookie was set on helping her friend. "But if you want, Lilly, I could look into your mind and see for myself… I could maybe figure out if it's only a dream or not. I won't do it if you don't want me to, but it might help figure this all out."

"She is very good," Bill affirmed when Lilly's briefly flicked over to him.

"But how is this not betraying Eric if it is in fact—" Her protest died on her lips. He had forfeited that right when he'd tried to glamour her. "Alright, but—there may be things you don't want to see, Sookie…"

At first she'd meant things she did as a hunter, but then her mind thought back on her dreams and instantly, her cheeks started to turn pink.

"Uh, I won't look at everythin'," Sookie promised her.

She resituated on the couch to face her more properly, took her hands again. It was a calming technique she used. As Sookie began to clear her own mind to start her concentration, she eased into solemnity, after a glance at Bill for his nod of certainty.

"I'll just concentrate on the weird stuff, what caused Eric to freak out, whatever woman you're seeing and whoever her lord is. All I need you to do now is relax. Can you do that for me? Just begin by taking deep breaths…"

Sookie watched as Lilly began to breathe, and closed her eyes. "Okay, Lilly. Why don't we start with your first dream, before they started becoming more intense? Do you remember it?"

Still unsure of this whole idea, Lilly nodded. Her mind was filled with raging emotions and subsequently Eric.

Here and there images of Marylin and her family popped up, but Eric was at the forefront of her mind, his voice echoing around her head. It was their fight. Then how sweet he had been on their vacation. Him saving her life—everything appeared to be fighting for supremacy as though she couldn't quite calm herself and focus. And Sookie saw this and opened her eyes.

Just one look at her jumbled mind proved how difficult this would be.

"Lilly, you've got to concentrate," Sookie told her gently. "I know it's hard, but you're gonna have to try to focus solely on when you first had that dream. If it'll help relax you, you can lie down if you want."

Lilly opened her eyes and after looking down at the couch, did as Sookie suggested.

"Okay." Again, the girl closed her eyes, and again the images warred and clashed with each other. But, unlike the last time, one scene slowly started to dominate the others and soon enough won out.

Three men spoke in Swedish. Two of the men held the third as they walked through the forest, joking through their pain, and finally collapsed down beside a giant log. The two men propped up their injured friend who had long, dirty, blonde hair. All of them were dressed in fur and leather, clearly having just come from battle.

It looked more like a _memory_ than a dream, and Sookie's brows drew together as she watched it. The injured third looked like— "_Eric_? I see Eric."

Bill tensed from where he sat watching.

A few irrelevant images flashed in front of the one Sookie tried to concentrate on, and she asked Lilly to open herself up, to let her in, and—

The two men crowded around their fallen leader, promising him they wouldn't leave him, promising they would give him a hero's farewell, for Eric had saved their lives many times before. Sookie couldn't understand their words, but she got a feeling that part of Lilly did.

There was a part of Lilly that was waiting in earnest…as the fair maiden then revealed herself, stepping forth from between the trees towards Eric. She was not human, dressed the way she was, aglow with an otherworldly aura, and Sookie noticed an odd resemblance.

"Lilly, she looks…like—"

Her horse neighed where the maiden had left it, and then she crouched above Eric on the mound, reaching forth with a slender hand.

"Norðmaðr," she said.

Sookie opened her eyes, while Lilly's stayed closed, and repeated the name. "Norðmaðr—I think that's Eric's name, Bill. The rest is in…Swedish, so I can't understand it—"

The next dream overcame the first, and then Sookie saw a bearded man. The setting was a great hall of stone and silver now, and the same maiden was standing before a throne.

The images started more quickly now, scattering back and forth, all of them in Swedish. Now that Sookie had managed to find her way in, all of Lillian's dreams rushed her, made the hunter tense.

"I… I—" But Lillian couldn't say more, for, even as Sookie saw the dreams, so did she, and her mind struggled with the onslaught.

The otherworldly woman first stood before the bearded man in one scene, talking. In another, she stood with Eric in front of a fire. In another, the woman argued with the man on the throne, and as they started coming faster, Lilly actually started speaking in Swedish in time with the woman called Svava.

It created an almost surround-sound effect for Sookie and Bill.

Suddenly scared by what was happening before him, he stood and quickly came around the small table.

"Sookie," he whispered.

She tensed, tightened her grip on Lilly's hands, and shook her head. "It's—it's all in Swedish…I can't understand it, Bill, but I think this woman, she—she—"

Svava rose in alarm as her lord held out his proposition, a sudden, great fright upon her. The large man stood before her, towering, and those others that seemed to be there, other warrior-like men and women, all crowded around the two.

Sookie felt Lilly seize with alarm, and so did Sookie, gasping, for Lilly's muttering became more frantic.

"Bill, Lilly's this woman, Svava, but I don't know who the bearded man is. He's got a missing eye, and there are others in a hall."

The great hall suddenly evaporated altogether and Sookie saw the grim forest and its village. The people here were nothing like the warriors, so miserable as they appeared. Lilly walked among them, her glow gone, and Sookie realized that now she might've been one of them.

Human.

"Lilly, can you hear me? I—I think that's enough," Sookie called to the girl, watched her relive the visions. "Lilly, come back to me. Take deep breathes to come out of it." Sookie took her by the shoulder and concentrated on her face. "Lilly—"

But the visions didn't stop. They only came faster like a slideshow. A blonde peasant woman peddling farm goods. A high lady at an English-like court. A small blonde street urchin. A woman fighting for equal rights in what appeared like America. All of them flashed back and forth in Sookie's mind and every single one of them was the same very familiar woman.

"Norðmaðr—" Lilly whispered, before the fight went out of her body, and, she stilled.

When Sookie panicked, Bill said gently, "She is resting. Her heart is still beating."

Sookie had to stand to get a hold of herself. She was in shock, even as Lilly's thoughts calmed and receded.

"Oh, God, Bill, it's like nothing I've ever seen. It…there was so much of it. Bill, they were somethin' more than ordinary dreams. They weren't dreams at all."

"They were actually Eric's _memories_?" the man prompted as he watched her pace.

"No. No, at first I thought they were, because I saw him as a human. He was injured and he was with his men, back in the Viking times, but then Svava appeared and I started seein' things from her point of view. When I saw that other bearded, old guy, Eric wasn't there, Bill." Sookie looked at her boyfriend, anxious from the revelation. Lilly lay unconscious—never had Sookie's mind-reading caused any one to pass out like that.

"It was like a…castle or somethin', a hall made out of stone. Maybe she was part of royalty or something, but I don't think that's it." Sookie frowned uncertainly. She knew they just discovered something profound.

"Who is this Svava?" Bill prompted as he stepped closer to her.

"I think Lilly's Svava, Bill. In fact, I'm positive. She looked exactly like Lilly, and there's a part of her that knows it too—a part of her that's concealed with only a little bit peakin' through. I don't know what she is, but from what I saw—she doesn't seem to be human."

Which didn't make any sense, considering they all knew Lilly was human. They would've known, especially the vampires, if she was otherwise.

"But then, when the old guy went away, and the hall, I saw a forest and people, a village. It was so gloomy and wretched. Lilly was there, but she wasn't Svava anymore."

Bill straightened and looked over at the unconscious girl.

"I think it might be best if we contacted Eric. I am not that old, and if you saw Eric in these dreams, perhaps he might know what has happened or who this Svava is." Eric was in fact the only lead they had. "The only thing I could try and do is glamour her, but I do not think that she would like that, and you have already seen inside her head."

Sookie nodded and went back to Lilly, sitting on the edge of the cushion beside her.

"After that forest, I saw other things, but they were brief, as if they were different—times. There was a peasant woman, and then a street…thief, and then someone who seemed to be part of a royal court—like around Shakespeare's time or somethin'. And…all of them looked like Lilly."

She looked back at Bill, and neither knew what to say of this.

"Perhaps it would be best if you stayed here with her. I will be back as soon as I can."

The vampire gave her one last look and then was gone.

* * *

_Fangtasia.._

She moaned under his mouth, her entire body swooning, shivering with pleasure…and partial pain, as her whimpering then began to grow startled. He fed on her neck greedily, attempting to satisfy what seemed to be an insatiable hunger. With how firmly he held her jaw, the dainty woman feared he'd break her neck, but she had nowhere to run now, and he would not release her, no matter her panicking moans.

"Please, I—I…Oh God, the entire room's swayin' n—now. Sir—"

But Eric grunted ravenously and bit in deeper, spilling more blood. It dripped on her pretty blouse and coated her hair, and dribbled down his chin, though he didn't care. All he wanted to do was drown himself in her blood, to help drown the unwanted thoughts that plagued the forefront of his mind.

They just wouldn't go away, and thus he grew angrier.

"Sir!" the woman shrieked.

"Shut up," he replied.

"B—but…I—"

She started lifting her hand but he caught it and held it down. And then she started to squirm but he only held her tighter. Eric growled deep in his throat, wondering if breaking her neck might in fact be a good idea. It was most favorable presently…and no one would hear them with the club's loud noise, nor would anyone notice her gone.

Eric smiled a smile that was quite evil, even for him. And the woman stared at the ceiling as if she was staring at death itself, waiting—

The sight of the two only spurred Bill to move more quicker across the floor.

"Eric, what are you doing?" he demanded, saw the way the woman was beginning to twitch. She was beyond pale and if Eric drank or spilled much more, her life would slip away.

Eric slowly raised his eyes to Compton and growled again. It took a moment, but finally he stopped drinking, and the woman gasped and leaned away from him, though remained on his lap by his hold.

"I was hungry," the sheriff said irritably.

He noticed at last the state of his donor. Though he still wanted more, he realized that killing her would without a doubt ruin his reputation and was forced to let her go. She slumped onto the chaise beside him, nearly out, and the vampire turned away without a care to grab a handkerchief and wipe his mouth. He lazily turned back to Bill when he saw that he was still there.

"What do you want?"

Though normally Bill might have attempted to help the human, he was there for other reasons.

"I need to ask you something," he said almost cryptically, but knowing that with the seemingly volatile mood his sheriff was in, he couldn't risk it and continued. "Lillian came to see Sookie this evening."

Both shock and worry struck Eric's face, but in an instant he schooled it and looked away. "She ran off to you two?" He feigned concentration on the rest of the club. He couldn't help but scoff.

"She was very upset," Bill explained, his own face one of concern.

"So was _I_," grumbled his sheriff.

"So she said, but there is more, Eric," Bill said, not taking his eyes from the man. "Something is…_different_ about Lillian. I do not know how to explain it but, do you know a woman called—Svava?"

Eric's expression fell at the name, and slowly the man turned his head back to him. "Why?"

"We do not know who she is, but…Lillian apparently has been having dreams about her," Bill informed. "Sookie looked into her memories of them, but she could not understand anything because it was in Swedish. Lilly was literally speaking in Swedish when Sookie forced the dreams to resurface. She saw everything, but we do not understand them. If you know this woman, then perhaps we might know what happened to her or…what Lillian is."

"What do you mean what she is? She's human."

There was some uncertainty in Eric—hesitation, disbelief, and even frustration. To Bill, he seemed to be hiding something, as his sheriff stared past him a little, lost in a vague thought about something.

Then Eric forced it away and leaned back into his seat, scowling.

"Lilly has developed an unhealthy obsession with my culture," he informed Bill. "You know how annoying humans can get when they become obsessed about something."

"So why is it then that Sookie only saw three dreams with you in them and the rest were of this Svava?" Bill asked incredulously. "And more memories with this same woman from scenes throughout the last thousand years?"

This managed to alarm the sheriff. "What?"

"But apparently she just has an unhealthy obsession with your culture," Bill said sarcastically as he started to turn away from the sheriff to leave.

"Wait," Eric stopped him. He still didn't believe him, but now this began to worry Eric, for he still cared about Lilly no matter what he tried to do to forget about her. "Humans dream," he said.

"Yes, unhealthily," Bill agreed. "I wonder why Sookie never had images of my past after drinking my blood. Did you know that Lillian's only protest against letting Sookie into her head was the fear that she would be telling your _secrets_ without _your_ permission, if they were in fact your past?" the vampire asked. "Clearly—an unhealthy obsession."

Eric stood so they could step a little ways away from where they were, away from Pam and Chow and his other cronies, who were watching from their perches. Their sheriff looked a little unsettled, and he was especially self-conscious to have Bill see him this way.

"My past? She told me she knew my name when I never told her. Only a select few know, but none could have told her."

"She saw more than that, Eric. She saw your turning and the days after it." Bill watched the vampire carefully. "If you do not believe me or her, you can ask Sookie, but why would Lilly lie? Has she given you cause to believe she would?"

The sheriff glowered but didn't answer, and turned away to stare off again. Bill was right, and that there was indeed something strange happening, yet Eric wouldn't admit to either. He hadn't wanted to see Lilly after their fight. Now there was no choice.

"I don't know what this is, but…Svava was a Valkyrie," Eric said, and his expression was solemn, ghosted with faint memories he had once locked away.

"If Svava was a Valkyrie, who is the one-eyed man she was speaking to?" Bill asked curiously.

Eric didn't answer right away and instead glanced to Pam, who sneered unhappily, and then he started leading the way out of the club.

"Odin, who was the chief of the gods of my land," he answered Bill, and by his tone, the sheriff didn't believe what he once had.

Bill followed his sheriff outside. "Well…that answers the questions I had. Thank you."

Eric grunted and, once they were in the middle of the parking lot, said, "See you there," and—just took off.

He left Bill to roll his eyes and go after him, despite the fact that this wasn't a race.

* * *

"I feel _beyond_ foolish," Lilly admitted to Sookie. Lilly took another slow sip from the teacup on her lap. "I'm not the type of person to pass out like that."

All of the dreams were fresh in the hunter's mind, never gave her a moment's peace. To demonstrate this, she even said a few things in Swedish to Sookie.

A simple, "_Det ärbrate._" (Which meant, "This is good tea.")

"I shouldn't know that. Eric says it's because I must be obsessed with his culture, but—I really don't see why. I love all cultures and, quite frankly, have studied others a _lot_ more in depth than his."

Sookie frowned and shook her head gravely. They sat in the kitchen, waiting for the men, though the tea didn't help either of them.

"It's not from studying who he is, Lilly, it's somethin' far more than that. The things I saw, what you saw were in you, those weren't dreams but memories... And somehow they manifested themselves into what you thought were dreams. Do you feel it at all? There's somethin' hidden in your mind. I saw it…and something tells me there's a lot more still to be revealed."

Lilly looked down into her tea. "I don't feel any different. I know it's hard to understand, but other than knowing some things I might not have known before, I really don't feel any different."

The way Sookie made it sound, there was some kind of parasite rooting around inside of her, but she didn't feel any different from she did any other day.

Sookie leaned forward on the table, looked at her intently. "Not at all? But Lilly. Lilly…_you're_ Svava—whoever she is. You look like her, you talk like her. You can't deny that that woman was _you_."

"We aren't the same person, Sookie. Sure, maybe there are similarities, but all blonde girls look alike." The problem was that Lillian didn't know if she truly believed that—that it wasn't her. Everything pointed otherwise.

"How can you say we talk alike? She was speaking about five different languages."

"Including Swedish, which you just spoke to me in. How do you explain that? I bet if you concentrated enough, you'd be able to remember some words in the other languages too." Sookie was certain this wasn't a fluke. She _saw_ Svava in Lilly now.

Though before Lilly could deny it, both of them heard the front door open with a sudden gust of wind, and a blur passed through the threshold into the house. In an instant, Eric appeared in the kitchen doorway and his sharp gaze landed on Lilly, who immediately stood. He looked unhappy…and maybe concerned as well, though he attempted to conceal this, and Sookie took a protective step in front of her friend.

"Where's Bill?" she pointedly asked.

Eric glanced at her for the briefest of seconds, before looking back at Lillian. "On his way. He's much slower than I am."

When he took a stride towards her, Sookie narrowed her eyes.

"I know you're still mad about the vervain or whatever it's called, but if you're here to fight with her, then you're goin' to have to get through me, because I'm not goin' to let you make her feel worse and more confused than she already is—"

"Sookie—" The last thing Lilly wanted was for her friend to go up against Eric. It wasn't hard to figure out who would win.

A muscle in the vampire's cheek jumped in annoyance. "I'm not here to fight," he tightly told them both. "Bill told me what happened to Lillian. It was very disconcerting to hear."

Lillian watched Eric carefully, looking over Sookie's shoulders at him. "Nothing happened to me, Eric," she told him levelly, her face devoid of any emotion. "Sookie just wanted to see my dreams."

"So I've been told, and she saw more than that apparently. Is this true?"

Sookie remained where she was and crossed her arms, answering for Lilly, "Yes, it's true. But they weren't dreams, they were _memories_, from Lilly's point of view. I saw you, before you were turned, how she visited you…and then another one, before Godric scared her away. Do you remember her, Eric?" The man was silent and Sookie saw this. "Do you?"

Eric clenched his fists. Lillian stepped out from behind Sookie and turned to face her.

"Sookie, that's enough. That's not necessary," she said gently.

The Sheriff took in a breath and exhaled it sharply, his gaze vaguely clouded. And Sookie wouldn't give up no matter Lilly's intercession.

"Eric, this is serious," the former persisted. "This isn't just a coincidence and you know it. There's somethin' more here. Lilly's…somethin' more."

"She is not Svava!" growled the man.

Denial wavered in his voice, and then, Lilly noticed something in his expression. His pale face faltered…with something she saw before, something _vulnerable_. But no sooner had he steeled himself than that uncharacteristic exposure vanished, and all three of them turned to Bill's arrival.

"That was rather childish of you, Eric, to take off like that," the vampire told him with a small glare. Bill walked around to get to Sookie's side, where immediately took up his usual hovering position.

Lillian didn't look away from Eric, however. Instead she was watching his face and, not for the first time that evening, felt guilty.

"I know I'm not Svava, Eric," she said in an attempt to mollify him somewhat. "This is all just one big coincidence."

"I hardly think that is the case here, Lillian. I heard you speaking when Sookie was seeing your memories," Bill told her gently.

"They're dreams, Bill, and I was foolish to let them get to me like this."

Sookie just rolled her eyes and after glancing at her boyfriend, took Lilly by the arm with a slight shake.

"Should do it again? Because I'm about to, Lillian, if it'll help me convince you. You _saw_ what I saw, and I don't know how you can deny any of that. You saw Eric, and then you saw that bearded man. He said something to you. Maybe you could clarify what it was all about?" Sookie glanced at Eric, who was brimming with anxiety.

He silently regarded Lilly and also waited for her to answer.

Lilly's gaze darted over to him, but only rested on him briefly before returning to Sookie. "There were several conversations with the bearded man, but…his name was Odin." The hunter sighed and shook her head. "She was searching for someone," she admitted cryptically.

"Who?" Sookie encouraged. "Eric?"

The said man tensed.

Lillian stepped away from all of them and went to the kitchen sink so that she could have some space. There she looked out the window. It was better than watching their expectant faces. "She was searching for a man lost to the dark…and she has been for quite a while."

"Lost to the dark?" Sookie and Bill looked to Eric, whose face fell slightly, and he too looked away then.

Lilly smiled sadly as she watched the moonlight play upon the tall grasses outside.

"His maker got to him just before she did," she continued. "And she couldn't convince him to come to his true home with her. After that, she lost track of him, but failure wasn't an option." Sorrow etched onto her face, so the hunter turned and fully faced the sink, braced her hands on the edge of the rim.

"What did she do, Lillian?" encouraged Bill.

"She was given one last task, and in order to do it, she'd have to sacrifice something of her own." Lilly couldn't look at him. She couldn't bring herself to see the look on Eric's face. He stared at the far corner of the kitchen, past the old cabinets and counters, and could not look at her either.

Sookie creased her brows. "What…was it?"

"Her immortality," Lillian said softly. "She was to be human."

Bill watched her in stun and reached out to touch Sookie's side.

Eric at last turned his head to Lilly, his expression blank.

"It's not true…" he whispered in Swedish, but a great part of him longed it to be otherwise. And this became hard to suppress. Never had Bill and Sookie seen him so.

Slowly, Lilly turned to look back at him and nodded.

"She never gave up on him," she replied in Swedish. Then she continued in English. "Born, died, and then again, she never stopped her search. Until she came across him."

Bill and Sookie watched quietly, unwilled to break into the conversation.

"You are not her," Eric denied still. The odds added up regardless. "You can't be. She was not real."

Yet he _saw_ her—as let himself remember, he saw Svava in her more and more.

Lillian watched him try to deny it. She felt herself start to believe it. Slowly, a kind smile spread across her face. If he wished to not believe in it, that was his choice, but she steadily felt something like relief spreading over her—she accepted it.

"It's your choice to make, Eric. I'm not going to try and force you either way."

In all honesty, Lillian wanted nothing more than for them to return to their vacation and leave all of this behind them. But unless Eric got past this, a vacation would never happen again.

"You can say it's a dream or it's a memory," she told him with the same sad smile. "Either way…I think it's something that has be dealt with."

Eric regarded her for a moment or two. Then he looked at Bill and Sookie and restrained any more emotions because of their presence. "Leave us," requested the sheriff tightly.

They only nodded and, after a glance at Lilly for her assurance, left the kitchen without a word, to return to the living room. Lilly watched them go and then looked back to Eric. She tried to read his face.

"Would you rather I not talk about it anymore?" she asked him, though there was no indication on her face about whether she'd comply or not with his wish if he chose yes.

Instead, he took a step towards her and clenched his fists again, adopting a partially intimidating air out of his agitation.

He glared down at Lilly and said through clenched teeth, "If you are truly her, then I will tell you it's too late. I'm not going to go anywhere with you. To Valhalla or wherever else." The derision in his tone couldn't be avoided.

Lillian didn't react to the approach he used and raised her brow. "Eric, have I ever tried to get you to go anywhere with me before?"

The vampire was silent for a beat. "Well, you have found me now. What do you want from me then?" he questioned.

"It's _me_, Eric," Lilly told him with some exasperation. "You act like I've been hiding this from you. I don't even know if it's true or not. Honestly, what I want from you? I want to go back to our vacation. I want things to go back to how they were before."

"They won't," he informed her tersely. "Now I don't know what to think of you." The man turned away. He didn't leave but his hesitance disappointed her greatly. He was at a loss, confused, trying to figure out how he felt.

"You're supposed to be human, yet—" he paused, and then admitted what he had before: "Yet you are not like the rest of them. But did Svava compel you to me? She sought to find me and she did, after supposed centuries of searching."

"If Svava compelled me to find you, Eric, she did a very poor job of it." Though she hurt by his seeming dismissal, she could not deny what she felt for him. "It was luck that we met. No one pushed me in your direction and, in fact, if we want to be honest, most people tried to pull us _apart_."

Which had been true when they'd first met and not much had changed regarding that since.

Lilly continued, and he listened to her, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"Eric, what I feel for you isn't from the meddling of some…woman, if that's what she is." The hunter stepped towards him and slowly reached up a hand to gently touch his back with her fingertips. "It's because whenever I close my eyes, it's _you_ I see," and she did just that and she felt him flinch under her touch. "I know it sounds… ridiculous, but its true..."

Her words sank in. He lowered his eyes, for a while didn't answer. Lillian still couldn't read his face. He still tried hard to suppress their mutual feelings. He was failing. His voice was no longer on edge when he muttered:

"You look exactly like her. Just as I remember…"

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked him softly.

"Long ago, I tried to forget and I did," he went on, "until I began to see you more, and then I—I guess it was from my blood."

She nodded.

It must have been Svava whom he felt in her. She compelled _him_ to _her_, and until now he hadn't realized. A vampire's mind allowed for certain things to be hidden forever if that were wished, but sometimes those things revealed themselves on their own. He felt that same longing he once had, when he saw her glowing form among the trees, a light that breached the darkness.

Eric slowly turned back to Lilly. He appeared almost human with how his emotions suffused outward. He frowned, apprehensive, before admitting rather briskly, "I never felt this way."

"Neither have I," she admitted, her brows drawn together. She lifted a hand up towards his cheek and gently warmed his skin. He sighed at her touch, and to return it, began to raise his own hand.

Then, he abruptly dropped it upon remembering another issue of theirs.

"The vervain. Yet you had the vervain," he said suddenly, and his old resentment arose again. "You don't trust me."

"Eric, that was never for you," Lilly said with a sigh as she let her hand go. "Marylin gave it to me, and I got so mad at her for it that I left her there in the restaurant and returned to you. I'd planned on throwing it away, though after Pam tried to drain me, I thought I'd hold onto it."

Shaking her head, she took a step back. "Why would I get something like vervain after having one of the best weeks I've ever had with you?"

His argument died on his lips, because he knew he was at fault too.

"Then I guess—I should apologize for what I did, for—what I tried to do. But you have to understand that your behavior—" He was shit at saying sorry. "Though now we know why, then I had no idea."

"How was _I_ supposed to act? I was sleeping and then the moment you woke me up, you started accusing me of mocking you." Lillian stepped closer towards him, but she didn't touch him again. "I think you would have reacted much the same way had the situation been reversed."

"Yes, so I'm sorry," Eric repeated a little touchily, before looking away uncomfortably. "I didn't know what to think."

"Breakfast in bed gets you a much better reaction, if you were wondering," she teased him with a sly smirk. Then again, she pretty much _was_ breakfast in bed for him.

"I don't cook," he replied, but his offense abated as he looked at her again. Then, he briefly noticed that Bill and Sookie speaking on the other side of the house. Though they were whispering, it was clear they were talking about them.

Sookie stood cross-armed by the couch, while Bill stood at the fireplace.

"Everything seems okay…" whispered the former.

So far they hadn't heard any alarming screams from Lillian, or ravenous growls from Eric, so perhaps everything was alright. Sookie tiptoed to peek down the hall but stopped herself and looked back at Bill with an uncertain look.

"You think it's okay?"

Bill nodded with a soft smile and beckoned his fiancée back over to him. Just as quietly, he said, "If I did not think it was needed, I would not have gone to get him in the first place."

Sookie smiled slightly, going into his arms and looked very sagely. "It can only help in the long run. This sort of thing couldn't have stayed hidden, especially if they knew each other before..."

They looked in direction of the kitchen and could only wait. Though Sookie didn't know Eric like Lilly did, from that which she had seen in her head, Sookie knew what they had was genuine.

"Eric has a way of dealing with things that most people have trouble understanding. From what I have seen, Lillian understands this. It will work out," Bill repeated.

* * *

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Lillian admitted softly after her joke failed to lighten the mood. "I tried to keep the dreams to myself, but they kept coming night after night." Again, the girl looked away from Eric and put a little distance between them. "They're so vivid…like I'm standing right there and they didn't happen hundreds of years ago, but just the other day."

"Yes—I remember them too," Eric confessed in a quiet tone. "But after I last saw Svava, I never saw her again, and my life went on with Godric."

"I don't know how she lost you, but I would guess it had something to do with becoming human." The girl glanced back at him briefly and wondered again if she had any right to be discussing this with him. "I know it might not mean much, but—I _am_ sorry."

Eric met her gaze, the corners of his mouth downturned. He didn't answer right away.

At length, he said, "The past cannot be changed." Then he redeemed, "Yet you're here now. Maybe…that's all that matters."

Lillian nodded and looked away once again. When he wasn't upset, it was hard to read him. When he _was_ upset, it could be almost impossible, not to mention her guilt wouldn't recede.

"What will you do now?" she asked softly.

He turned his attention to the window, where it was still dark yet wouldn't remain for long. An hour tops. The sheriff was in no mood to be angry anymore—there would be no point—and he didn't want to worsen things. Perhaps he too wanted them to go back to how they were.

"The sun will be up soon and I have to go back to _Fangtasia_," he said.

There was a very brief flicker of expectancy in his expression. But after what they went through today, it could have been best for them to each stew on their own. He wasn't angry, yet he still felt unhappy, especially after not seeing her for days.

Evident disappointment drifted into both Lilly's voice and face and she said quietly, "Oh, right." It was then as she stood there that she remembered she would be leaving for New Orleans in just a few hours. "When can I see you again?" she asked.

"Whenever you wish," he replied, and lingered. "You'll always be welcome, no matter what Pam or anyone else says to you." All this was muttered.

Lillian nodded and felt the pit in her stomach growing, regardless.

"Are you going to stay here, with Bill and Sookie?" Eric looked in their direction with slightly narrowed eyes, as he took a step through the doorway to leave.

"No, I was going to head back to Shreveport."

Something within him lightening, he declared, "Good." Then he finally started down the hall. Bill and Sookie watched the vampire head out of the house.

They were shocked when Lillian actually managed to wait an entire twenty seconds before sprinting after the sheriff.

Though his face remained blank, Bill was definitely smiling inside as they saw the hunter dart out the door. Sookie grinned and clasped her hands with hope. They watched their two shapes though the windows.

"Eric!" Lilly yelled. She stepped out onto the porch and saw him on the lawn before the front steps. He had been about to take off. Now he turned around.

"I…" Again Lillian hesitated.

Then, she finally jogged down the steps to close the distance between them. She didn't even pause when she made it to him. She fluidly reached up to cup his stubbly jaw with her hands and press her lips to his. He let her and welcomed the kiss. Mutual longing, impatience, and relief all rolled into one.

"It'd been too long," she murmured against his mouth.

The man exhaled a breath and with a husky voice agreed, "Yes it has."

He leaned his forehead against hers, took a moment to relish her warm touch—he'd been waiting for her do something, anything. Because he had been more of a coward than she, and stubborn. He was glad that she stopped him from flying off. So he then returned the kiss with clearer eager and clasped her face to pull her to him.

A Viking and his Valkyrie. Neither presently concerning themselves with their audience. They stood there in the front yard, by the Mustang, and enveloped each other in their arms, forgiving each other's past faults and transgressions, wordlessly declaring their utter affection for one another.

They had just been too inflexible before to profess it. Bill and Sookie awed.

With the pit in her stomach demolished, Lilly she lowered her hands to his chest and relaxed against him. Smiling, she closed her eyes. Eric didn't smile but he looked smug.

"Am I driving or you?" she asked him softly.

A smirk tugged the corner of his mouth and he said, "You can, but you will have to step on it so we return before sunrise." Eric raised his eyes to the window, where he saw Bill Compton and his own human. Eric didn't like them watching, he gave a bemused smile. Then he wrapped arm around Lilly and strode with her to her car.

"Let's go."

"With you to get me out of speeding tickets, I don't see that being a problem," she replied with a grin.

A minute later, the Mustang peeled down Bill's driveway before disappearing around the bend.

* * *

"Thank you for seeing me," Dr. O'Connell started with a small, uncertain smile as she looked at the two people sitting across the table from her. "I know the last time I asked you…things didn't exactly go as we might have liked."

Joshua smiled kindly and held out a small vial.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. We get what happened before wasn't your fault, but we half to be sure." He saw the way the woman looked at the clear vial. He opened it to pour a small amount on his hand.

"It's just holy water. If you could dump the rest of this on your hand, it would make both of us feel a bit better."

"It's to prove I'm not…a demon," the woman said cautiously. She took the vial, doing as was requested. After completing the task with no problem, she handed it back.

"I'm really sorry that you went through what happened," Marylin apologized solemnly. "You need to know that none of it was your fault, but ours. We should've stopped it. You treated me while I was comatose, and that's why it got to you. I put you in danger."

Evelyn smiled and shook her head.

"Marylin, it's my _job_ to help you. You didn't put me in any danger, but that's not actually the reason I asked you both to meet with me."

Not bothering to hide his confused speculation, Josh glanced over at Mar briefly before returning his attention to the doctor.

"I… may not understand all of what you do," Evelyn began, "but I want to help."

Marylin chuckled slightly. "Dr. O'Connell, it's more complicated than that, and it's very dangerous. There's…a lot more to it that you don't get."

The doctor wasn't willing to give up so quickly.

"Please, call me Evee," she started. "I may not understand _how_ you fight them or what all it entails, but I do understand injuries and after seeing the ones you endured, that is something I can help with."

Joshua just looked at Marylin and shrugged. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest. His cousin didn't like the proposition, for the sake of the doctor, who knew nothing of their world.

"D—Evee, uh, you see…my miraculous healing, it wasn't you, it was," Marylin swallowed and turned her gaze away. She past the other empty tables around them (they were at a coffee shop), and tried to ignore the rich coffee smell that suffused the air. She still wasn't comfortable about her recovery but she couldn't deny what happened.

"It was Castiel. He did it. I don't know how, but it was him, Evee. Usually we don't get into car accidents. None of us have ever been injured like that before. We're very careful. We actually try to stay away from hospitals," Marylin told the doctor in a lowered voice, and glanced at Josh. "I'm personally not too fond of them."

"And with good reason. No one should want to go to a hospital," Evelyn replied. She was completely at ease with Marylin's hesitance. "But…this is something I think I have to do. I help people. And I saw what you go up against every day of your lives. Though you may have Castiel, you don't have the full support network that you need."

The doctor sighed and looked down at her coffee for a moment.

"I get that you don't want me getting involved in this, but the truth is I already _am_. It's not something I can just brush away or forget about, and I'm not really the type to just sit by and watch."

"Well, I think it's just best if you do. No more demons are going to come after you, and nothing else either." Marylin regarded her seriously and leaned across their table. "There's no need to delve into any of this, _trust_ me, Evee, for your own sake. We'll be fine."

She looked to Josh again for his agreement.

Evelyn leaned forward as well. "That's something that is a lot more easily said than done, Marylin."

Though Josh agreed with what his cousin was saying, there was a part of him that wasn't completely willing to shut the doctor down.

"But what you're saying is that having Castiel means you never have a need for someone with medical expertise?" The doctor's smile turned a little knowing. "Are you experienced at reviewing cadavers then, Agent Gold?"

Joshua turned rigid. "What do you mean?"

"What I'm saying is," Evee said gently, "that I understand that Castiel can take care of your wounds, but what about the three morgues you've visited needing to review bodies? Do you have the knowledge to properly do that and have the confidence in knowing that you haven't missed something?"

There was nothing belittling about her tone, rather a desire for them to understand that she could be very helpful if they would allow her to be.

Marylin shifted in her chair, her face fallen, and didn't answer right away.

"The things that we look for are what are usually missed in normal investigations, autopsies, so yes, I do consider myself experienced. I may not be a doctor, but I've had enough experience in my life to be confident. We are involved in matters that you know nothing about, Evee," she told her gravely, looking her dead in the eye.

"Trust me, you don't want to stray beyond your usual."

"Marylin," Evelyn started again as she sat up. To see her agitated was a shock to her demeanor. "Whether you'd like to admit it or not, I'm already a part of this 'unusual'. Maybe it's possible for others to discover that angels and demons exist and then go about their normal lives, but that's not the case for me. It's nothing something I can shake so easily."

"Doctor, I don't think you're completely getting what Marylin is saying," Joshua cut in, not wanting his cousin to take the complete brunt of it.

But Evelyn lifted a hand to halt both of them.

"Please. If you're not going to allow me to help you, then I'm going to do it on my own. I merely thought I might be able to aide you and yours because I already know you. I understand your desire to try and keep me out of your world, and I appreciate it, but it's too late."

Marylin was rather incredulous. Then she forced herself to calm her voice.

"After going through what you did, you want to confront more of it?" the hunter said. "You have a job, a life—you don't want to ruin that, even if you might think it won't. It will. Demons are nasty, evil things, and angels, well," she scoffed. "You might've seen one, but more probably don't exist."

Evee quieted and watched her carefully. After a moment, she shook her head.

"Thank you for meeting with me."

"Wait, Evelyn—" Joshua started. The doctor raised a hand.

"It's okay. Really. Stay safe," she said as she started to stand.

"Doctor," Marylin stood as well and regarded her with a warning expression, "listen to me, please, this is for your own good. Don't try to delve into this. If you do, and something happens again—just don't, okay? Don't do anything," she implored urgently, and clenched her hand as the doctor stepped around her in direction of the exit.

"Thank you for your concern, Marylin. You have my number if you need me." A slightly forced smile on her face, the doctor stepped out the door.

"Well, that went well…" Joshua said with a conflicted look on his face.

"Goddammit," swore Marylin.

Through the windows of the Monroe coffee shop, they watched the doctor cross the street and go to her car, and watched her drive away in her Prius and then disappear from view altogether, to return to back to Shreveport.

At least that's where the hunters hoped she was going. Now they had another thing to worry about.

Marylin sat back into her chair and shoved away her now-cold coffee, which she hadn't even touched, and looked at her cousin with a scowl. "What do we do now?"

"I don't think there's much we can do… Can Castiel erase memories?" offered the boy.

"I don't know," sighed his cousin. "But I don't want to ask. Let's just go back to Bon Temps. I'll call Evelyn later to make sure she listened to us."

She stood, even though Josh wasn't finished with his own coffee, and made for the exit. "Come on."

"Marylin, she's not going to listen to us," he said with a sigh. He took one last sip of his drink and hurrying after her, only to stop in surprise once they got outside.

There, beside Marylin's car, stood the man in question. The two quickly crossed the street to get to him and dodge a coming car.

"Now we've got trouble, Castiel," Josh told the angel.

Marylin's scowl grew more annoyed, and Castiel didn't look too happy either, having discovered their separation from the others.

"Lilly and Luke are gone," he said disapprovingly. "After what I told you."

"And what did we tell _you_ about our record of staying together," Marylin reminded him, as she trudged around him to her door. "We're better separate and that's just the way it is. Lilly and Luke will be fine."

Castiel rounded on her, and rested a hand on the door to halt her from getting inside the vehicle.

"It's for precaution, so if more danger is discovered, I can know where you are to monitor you."

"What are we, kids?" she asked him. Then she had to take a step back from how close he was standing, regarding her with an unsettlingly stern expression.

"No, you are not, but you know of the situation, and I've told you why I've made it my job to make sure nothing happens to you," he said.

Marylin only scoffed. Castiel looked to Joshua who was at his own door.

"Sometimes, Castiel, with the women in our family, it's best to just let things go," the boy told him with a shrug. "This is probably the way it's going to be for a little while. Only time heals things with us," which was a true statement. "But we have something else that needs to be dealt with."

"What is it?" the angel asked with alarm.

"That doctor," Joshua told him as he leaned his arms along the top of the Camaro. "She's started thinking that she needs to help us."

"What?"

"After the demon, and discovering who you are, she won't move on," clarified Marylin with obvious exasperation. "We told her that nothing else will come after her, but she feels like she can't let any of it go and wants to get involved. But it's probably more because of _you_ and what you did."

"Revealing myself to her wasn't my intention," Castiel said, then he paused briefly and glanced away. "But maybe I should've expected her to have such a profound reaction after discovering what I am."

"She's human and a civilian. How could you not have expected it? I was half-expecting her to question us about God. Thankfully she didn't, but what would we have told if she did?"

"There _is_ a God," the angel promised them solemnly.

"Sorry, Castiel. That's for you to preach, not us," Joshua told him, sharing a piece of his cousin's bitterness. "Can't you just go and wipe her memories? She said that if we didn't want her help, then she'd do it on her own. That's way too dangerous for someone inexperienced to just go run into." Joshua grimaced. "We tried to handle it and it didn't work."

The angel considered for a moment, his mouth setting in a grim line that said he wasn't too happy either.

"If you believe is she indeed set on doing that, then…I might be able to do something," he said at length. Neither Joshua nor Marylin liked the vague notion.

"What will you do?" asked the latter.

"I will convince her that she did not see me, nor was involved with the demon. It will prevent her curiosity and guarantee her safety."

"You're going to hypnotize her?"

"It is not hypnotizing, nor any form of glamouring."

When the two hunters still appeared apprehensive, Castiel let out a slight sigh. "It's one of the many things we can do and is difficult to explain. There's no need worry. I will go find her then, and it will be taken care of. Meanwhile, I'd like to you to call Lilly and Luke and ask them to return. There is no reason for them to be in New Orleans."

Joshua sighed and nodded. "We'll do that, just please make sure you take care of the doctor and—" He'd been about to request that Castiel didn't hurt her, but something inside him said that the angel would take it as an affront, and so instead Joshua just shook his head. "We'll call them."

"Good."

Castiel looked at Marylin and stepped away from her door, letting her finally open it. She tried to keep her annoyance from simmering and climbed in her seat to turn away from him altogether.

The angel then flew off. His disappearing act caught Joshua in a moment or two of speechless awe, and he searched the sky for any sight of wings, until Marylin honked to snap her cousin out of it. Castiel was finally gone, and for now it was good riddance.

"I don't like him," she said to Josh.

"I know you don't," he said with a small sigh. "Let's go get some food. I'm starving." It was subject that was never far from the boy's mind, or his brother's.

* * *

The blinds were drawn but they did little to keep out the midday sun, as the slats weren't completely closed in Dr. O'Connell's office. It was tidy as usual, except for her desk area, which sported an array of coffee cups all with varying levels of liquid, files, books, and other items she found useful when reviewing paperwork.

Placed in prominent piles on her desk, the files were sorted in a way that only made sense her. Buried in her work, Evelyn reviewed them, scratching down notes on a yellow legal pad while periodically tapping out Morse code with the end of her pen.

Because the door to her office was shut, Evelyn felt moderately comfortable leaving the three books that she'd picked up from the local bookstore that morning open on her desk. It allowed her to highlight certain lines and jot down notes in the margins, a bad habit she'd picked up in her school days. Along with them were several other books on neurology and psychology that she'd already had in her personal library. By bringing both collections of books and old case files together, the doctor sought to draw certain conclusions that she might not previously considered.

As she worked, brows draw and lips pursed, she was too absorbed to notice the figure that peered in through window by the door, nor as he hovered there for several beats. When finally there came a knock, Evelyn jumped and quickly covered her work to prevent any speculations. Even after seeing who it was, she made sure all of her work was hidden before getting up and answering the door with a small smile.

She stepped back for him to come in.

"I hadn't expected to see you again. Please, come in," she offered.

Castiel strode through the room, briefly glanced around it, and then turned to regard the doctor grimly.

"Do have a moment, Doctor? We need to speak," he said, and her smile faded hesitantly. "I was told by Marylin and Joshua that you saw them recently, and you addressed them with some ideas."

Turning away from him, the woman shut the door and nodded. "Yes, I saw them earlier this morning, but please, call me Evelyn."

She should have known that after having the negative reaction she'd received from Marylin and Joshua, Castiel would show up.

The angel passed by her desk, noticing the extra material she had picked up, books one wouldn't expect a doctor to be curious about—books about spirituality versus medicine, fact and faith, even a book about God. There was one about angels at the bottom of the stack, but then Castiel faced the woman again with a more serious set to his features.

"You've concerned them with your ideas, Evelyn, and me as well. I know it's difficult to…swallow what you have learned, and now you've become curious, but it mustn't get the better of you."

"And so like them, Castiel, you're asking me to forget what I've seen?" she asked as she leaned against the corner of her desk.

"No, I know you won't forget, but if you decide to do something rash, then I'm afraid I will have to." He paused, briefly glancing away. "I'll have to stop you, Evelyn, for your own safety."

With a concerned look, Evee pushed herself away from her desk and walked around it so that his averted gaze would fall on her.

"Castiel, while I appreciate the concern, it's not my safety you need to concentrate on," she said as she searched his gaze with her brows drawn together. "It's those _kids_. I don't know everything that has happened in their lives, I admit that, but I can't sit by knowing what I now know and not arm myself with the knowledge that could one day possibly save one of their lives."

"That is why _I'm_ watching over them," he told her, and then let out a faint breath. "But if it will continue to plague you, then I'll simply…take away the burden you believe you're now carrying." Castiel took a step towards her, and she didn't like the sound of what he said.

"That's why I came, and I think it will be for the best."

The woman held her ground and looked up at him with bewilderment.

"What if_ I_ don't think that's for the best?" she asked him softly. "I can _help_ those kids, Castiel. I _want_ to help those kids and… I _choose_ to help those kids."

It was who she was. She couldn't deny her desire to help others.

Castiel tilted his head and studied her. An unfathomable look from his side. Like a very serious detective trying to understand a civilian—which he was far from. He saw the drive within her, the longing to provide aid to anyone she could, to the best to her ability, and beyond.

But if only she _knew_ that she didn't have to prove anything. She was kindhearted and compassionate and everyone around her knew, including those up above.

"You wish so much to help everyone, to save as many as you can. But, Evelyn," he took another step, "you already do so much. There is no need to look for…atonement."

He knew of another thing about her. Slowly, shock moved its way across her features. Years ago, Evelyn had tried to save her dying sister, and ever since, she blamed herself. What doctor wouldn't?

"There is nothing for you to atone. There never was. You're a great doctor."

She quickly covered a flicker of pain and licked her lips to try and get her bearing.

"Thank you, but that's not good enough. I'm sorry, but I," again she shook her head. "I _have_ to help. I just do. Don't you understand? It's my nature. It's who I am!"

Her eyes were widened with trust and an earnest glimmer of hope—it made this all the more difficult for Castiel. And he didn't know why it had to be. He frowned and contemplated for a short while. Then, he managed to resolve himself and raised his hand with a sympathetic look.

"You won't feel anything. It will be over in an instant," he promised.

She took his hand before the tips of his fingers touched her forehead, and lowered it. Her touch startled him. She didn't let go of his hand.

"Why do you feel you have to do this, Castiel? Please, just tell me that," she asked, her brows drawn together. There was no way to stop him if he really wanted to do it.

"For your own good," the angel repeated.

There was an edge to his voice. She didn't seem to be afraid of him at all. He was startled when he felt the warmth of her hand, and quickly took his back his own.

"Otherwise you will endanger yourself," he firmly said. "It is better for you not know what you have learned."

"Sometime people have to make their _own_ mistakes, Castiel," she reminded him patiently. "I'm no more important than any other person, which means I need to be allowed to make my own choices and my own mistakes. And right now, I know in my heart that it would be a mistake for you to try and correct the situation."

"You weren't supposed to be involved in any of this. None of this was your fault. You won't remember the demon, or the terrible thing that you went through."

"Can you let me remember one thing?" she asked.

His hand stilled in the air on its way back to her forehead. "What thing?"

She didn't answer him right away, as though worried about how her answer would be received. After that brief hesitation, she spoke:

"_You_."

Taken aback, Castiel's face fell, and he stared at her. "Me? Why?"

"For the first time in my life, I've felt secure. _Safe_," she explained, never taking her eyes from him. "We're always told that someone is there, watching, but knowing you _are_ there, knowing you exist, Castiel… It might be selfish, but I don't want to lose knowledge of you. You're something that is truly good in this world. You give me hope."

"We are always watching over you," he said. "Proof of me shouldn't have attested to the good there is here. It's called faith. You should have faith, Evelyn."

"And yet, you can't find faith in me to do my job," she said gently.

Surprisingly, finally he gave in, and with some defeat in his expression, said, "Alright."

His fingers touched her forehead, and the man's face faded into white, the last of what she saw.

* * *

**What will happen next? **

**I think this chapter marks a REAL turn from the usual True Blood. An AU. Different, broadening world. Although I think that all of these supernatural shows - True Blood, Supernatural, Vampire Diaries even. What else? Other Vamp shows. Like Buffy. Moonlight. Bloodties (which also includes a sexy vamp). They all use the same type of world. Any sort of mythical being can exist there. **

**So! Next time:**

**- Marylin should return to Sam.**

**- Lilly should go to New Orleans. But that doesnt mean Eric can't reach her...**

**- The group deals with Castiel. **

**- Evelyn finds her curiosity growing about the angel. After all, all she remembers is the mysterious man. **

**- Meanwhile Sookie and Bill plan their wedding. Yes we're avid Sookie/Bill supporters. **

**- We revisit Scott. See whats happening with him. Has he been tamed? **

**- And an old hunter finally finds the gang, meets the angel he hasn't seen in years. **

**- More clues to all of their pasts. And that demon certainly wasn't the last. **

**- LASTLY. Just because Svava is now human, after almost a thousand years she finally found Eric (pure chance really by reincarnation), she still has to take him to Valhalla, right? Will Lillian be able to fight the Valkyrie in her? Or will she yield to the duty she'd been given by Odin? What do you think that means for Eric? Love that surpasses centuries is a dangerous thing. **

**_Whatchu think? ;)_**


	21. I'm so Tired

**This chapter is also pivotal. It shows what's going on in our characters' heads. I hurried to get it posted, edited as best as I could. Although there could still be a few mistakes. I'm sorry. **

**This chapter is pivotal for another reason: we're going on a slight hiatus for a while. But for your benefit! We need more time to work on the rest of the story, because there's a lot more left to happen. 21 chapters already and there'll be more. I know. It's crazy. **

**Also I'll be moving our fic to True Blood wiki, which will require some time. We want more people to discover and read it. But it WILL remain on here, and be updated just the same.**

**Thanks again for all of your attention! :) Enjoy as always.**

**. . .**

I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink  
I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink  
I wonder should I get up and fix myself a drink  
no, no, no.

I'm so tired, I don't know what to do  
I'm so tired, my mind is set on you  
I wonder should I call you but I know what you would do

You'd say I'm putting you on  
but it's no joke, it's doing me harm  
you know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain  
you know it's three weeks, I'm going insane  
you know I'd give you everything I've got  
for a little peace of mind.

~ The Beatles

. . .

_Merlotte's_ looked like it had any other day. There were two cars parked out front, and a couple of people could be seen enjoying an early dinner, but for the most part it was quiet. An early rain had come in that day, unsurprisingly, giving the air a thick sticky feeling, and lending it the smell of the swamps.

Inside, Arlene smiled and gossiped with a couple of old ladies that she was waiting on, while Sam stood on top of a chair in the far corner, hammering up an old-looking picture of a group of dogs playing poker. It was another to add to his already large collection of canine-related decorations, which were dispersed throughout the bar. Sookie passed him and smirked, as she strode to give a sad-looking Hoyt his cheeseburger.

She inquired about his mood, and he told her things weren't going too well with Jessica. They had broken up the night before, which is why the young vampire had come home so petulant the night before and left her and Bill concerned. Sookie offered to speak to Jessica for him, but Hoyt simply shook his head and morosely nursed his beer with low hopes.

Thus, Sookie sighed and had no choice but to leave the poor man to his brooding and tend to her other costumers. She nearly bumped into someone on her way across the floor and saw who it was.

"Marylin, oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you! You're back, and you…you look," to her amazement, Sookie saw that the hunter was perfectly fine after the accident. "How are you feelin'?"

Marylin forced a smile and shook her head to dismiss the concern. "I'm fine. I feel fine. I got released a couple days ago—there were just a few bumps and bruises. Nothing serious," she lied.

"But Sam told me you were in a coma, and then I saw Lilly, and she was so worried about you!" Sookie said, and next blurted out, "Actually she was here last night."

"She was?" the hunter's face fell slightly.

"Yeah…" It seemed that Marylin hadn't known, and Sookie furrowed her brows. "She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Uh, I guess if she didn't, I can't really say much—But it's all better now. Everything's fine. She and Eric had a little fight, but they've made up."

Marylin's voice went a little flat. "She and my cousin Luke left for New Orleans, so I don't know what's going on. But if she's fine, then that's good."

"Yeah. Is everything okay between you two?" Sookie asked, despite Marylin's grimace. The woman assured her everything was fine and there was no need to worry, and left the blonde to her job.

"Marylin," said another voice, this one masculine.

Sam had hopped off the chair, hammer in hand, and walked towards her. "Wasn't sure when I'd see you again."

She turned around with a weary smile, glancing briefly around the restaurant with a lowered voice. "Yeah. Lilly and Luke suddenly left on their own to New Orleans, so it's just me and Joshua."

The man's eyebrow lifted at her words, and his lips pressed in a purse.

"Really?" he asked.

Then he studied her expression and saw something else clouded beneath her eyes. It drew concern out of him. Quickly, he glanced around at those in the bar, noticing all were watching them, and reached out to gently touch her elbow. He gestured in direction of his office.

"Come on. Let's go talk in back."

Marylin followed him, past Sookie and Arlene who curiously watched, past the kitchen team (one of whom who smirked knowingly while stirring his clam chowder, while another stared with slightly wide eyes) and all the way to the back, where Sam's office was tucked away near his staff's own room. Here, they wouldn't be bothered.

She noticed a new addition to one of the room's walls, another dog picture Sam had put up earlier—it was a border collie with a lady, who stood beside the dog in a hill of long, blowing grass, on day which appeared serenely perfect. The lady had on a white dress similar to the one that Mary Poppins wore on her imaginary park stroll with her _very close_ friend Bert.

Sam closed the door behind them, and before either of them said anything, the man turned to Marylin, took her face, and gave her a tender, affectionate kiss.

She could tell just by this he'd been worried about her.

He leaned his forehead against hers, closed his eyes, breathed in her scent. She smelled of the leather jacket she wore and the gentle perfume that was ever-present in her hair and in her clothes. He, on the other hand, smelled of manly sweat, and his own cologne was probably faint by now and overpowered by food. That's what happens when one worked in a restaurant.

She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "Sammy," against his rugged jaw.

He stroked his hand through her straight dark hair and gazed at her.

"How've you been?" he asked huskily, attracted and a little hungry. He missed her. He could have her right there if she'd let him. His office had a couch. There was an animal in him after all.

"I'm alright now." It was the way she said it.

"Now?" he repeated with a little alarm.

"Yeah…" Her voice wavered unconvincingly. She stepped away from him to run her own hand through her hair. Now that he was involved—in a roundabout way—she couldn't lie. "The demon returned. We got him," she assured quickly. "But it made things a bit more difficult."

Eyes wide, Sam took her by the forearms.

"Jesus, Marylin, are you okay? Did it try something?" She looked in one piece. He looked her over again. No visible bruises. "Did it do something?"

"Of course it did something. They all do something," Marylin snapped a little. Then she forced herself to calm.

She just wasn't used to such concern. She and the other hunters usually just sucked in their emotions and didn't console each other tenderly and softly after every _hunt_, for a lack of a better word.

"Demons always do something," she said. "But no one ended up in the hospital this time. We're all fine now. It's just the doctor, the one who treated me during my coma—she was involved. The demon used her as bait. She's alive. We just had to deal with her shock, so that's why I was gone so long."

"How did the demon use her as bait? You mean the damn thing…_possessed_-?" Sam looked like he swallowed a lemon as he said the word, because he remembered how Marylin was when she had been possessed by MaryAnn's evil influence.

Just so fucked up.

"Yeah, possessed. She doesn't remember what she did, but she remembered, uh-" Here Marylin stopped. Telling Sam about Castiel would only freak the shifter out more.

"Every one of them remembers how the demon leaves their bodies. It hurts—it hurts your _soul_. I know how it sounds, I don't know how else to describe it, but it's a terrible thing to go through. Luckily Castiel, he's, uh, he's another hunter. Friend of a friend of ours. He saved us. The demon had Joshua and I pinned."

Sam lifted his hand and stroked her cheek. Then, he pulled the woman to him altogether, against his chest. She tensed a moment before relaxing her face against his shoulder. He calmed her. His kindness always calmed her. He kissed the side of her head and said angrily:

"I should'a been there."

"And what, turned into a croc and bit his head off?"

Sam chuckled darkly. "We got gators here, and I said I'd do it if I had to protect you."

Marylin scoffed as they stood there in each other's arms. "It wouldn't have worked, Sam. If the demon could pin Joshua against the wall with its demonic force, and keep me strapped in a chair on the other side of the room, it could've probably done the same with you."

"Son of a bitch," he swore, and held her tighter.

"So, I'm glad you weren't there."

"I sure as hell am not."

"Sam." Marylin lifted her head and looked at the shifter very seriously. "Sam, this is serious."

"I know. I _am_ serious." And she saw he was. His usually soft, puppy-dog eyes were narrowed determinedly, brows furrowed. He was becoming upset—she still doubted him, it seemed. "After all we went through, Marylin, you're still gonna give me your damn "Amazon woman" speech?"

She gave a laugh of confusion. "Amazon woman?"

"That you're a hunter and you can protect yourself, an' I'm just like the rest of the hicks here. A goddamn civilian."

"You're not. Of course you're not. I know."

Sam let out a breath of disappointment. He was sick of this. He saw it in her face. She was humoring him.

"Haven't I proved myself enough to you?" He slid his hands down her arms, frustrated. "Haven't you an' I gone through enough—enough to show each other we can handle it? Everything that comes our way."

"Most of everything." She crossed her arms.

Sam growled exasperatedly and turned away from her to pace across his office. Through the window blinds, he saw Terry unloading groceries from the truck. "Marylin…"

"Sam." She uncrossed her arms and stepped a pace forward, watching him fume. "Sam, I trust you. I don't doubt you. Believe me. You're far more than anyone else here. But this is different."

"It's a demon. Just like MaryAnn was."

"No, MaryAnn was something else. Similar, but…not a devil."

"I thought you said demon."

"Yes, that's what I meant. Devil's just another word for it," she explained.

Sam was silent a moment. "You said you got it, anyway."

"We did," rather Castiel the angel did. "But more could come after me."

He turned back around.

"So next time I'm gonna be there then. And that's that. I'm not gonna argue with you anymore, Mar." He was more serious than she'd ever seen him. "I don't care if you're a hunter and if you think you gotta push everyone else away just to protect them. _Even though_ they wanna be with you, and _know _what to expect." Marylin stared at him, silent. She had already pushed Sam's buttons before. He wasn't giving up with her yet.

"I've had shit thrown at me all ma life, and it's not gonna stop any time soon. You aren't savin' me from anything, 'cause it's just comes from the reality of what I am. An' I've learned to accept it."

As if successfully scolded, Marylin lowered her eyes and then began reaching for the door. With her other hand she fished inside her jean pocket to take something out.

"Okay. Then can you please wear this? It'll protect you. It's similar to the one I have." A circular pendant with strange symbols inside. Sam took it without protest but only glanced at it. "I won't worry as much about you," she said flatly.

"Mar, where you goin'?" He sighed.

"I…uh. Maybe I should just go."

"Go where?"

She didn't explain and opened the door. The mood between them was ruined. She didn't want it worse. But he reached out with his arm to shut the door again. His other snaked around her waist to keep her from escaping him.

His voice softened a great deal. He pocketed the charm. "Marylin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you… I just—if I didn't know what I was gettin' myself into, I wouldn't be here. Don't go if you don't havta."

"Okay."

This was new for her. Only another hunter would understand. Associating—befriending or…falling for civilians. _Normal _people. Even as partially normal men as Sam was hard. It just usually wasn't done.

"Look at me, Mar." She looked at him. He smirked. "You can get as serious as Mrs. Fortenberry out there, when she's cross about somethin'."

Marylin chuckled weakly.

"You're so serious all the time," he said softly. "You think you got such a weight on yer shoulders, but maybe…maybe it ain't supposed to be that big." She opened her mouth to protest.

"But it is-"

"It's like you got the mindset of a soldier. We aren't in a war, Marylin."

"_Some_ of _them_ think we are."

He understood who _they_ were. "Well, there's more of us than there are them. Right? And you're not the only hunter out there, that I know for sure. Plus, you can't protect everyone on your own."

Marylin frowned and her head sunk. "I know." Of course she overestimated herself.

"Because I'm not like the rest of the hicks out there," he nodded with his head in direction of the front. "I can help you. If you let me..."

Marylin tore her gaze away from him.

"Will you let me? 'Cause I want to? It's my choice, and you don't have to feel guilty if I get hurt." He took her face gently with his hands, to prove his sincerity. "'Cause I want to be with you. Do you want to be with _me_, Marylin?"

If she didn't—if that was the root of it all and she wasn't tell him—he had to know.

But she quietly said, "Of course I do," and didn't look away again.

"So it's like—it's like a contract we're making. Without the paper," he said unexpectedly, and even chuckled at what he'd say next. "And you're gonna remember this moment so in the future you can't deny any of it."

Marylin gave a short laugh. "Oh, Sam."

"Okay, it's probably stupid, but I want you to get it straight. I'm goin' to help you. I goin' to help keep ya safe." She laughed again and he caught her gaze. "'Cause I'm a man, and it's part of me in the end. Just like being stubborn is a part of you. And I'm goin' to help you. You aren't gonna be in on it alone. I'm just not gonna let you."

Smiling now, Marylin nodded. "Okay."

"Good." His thumbs comfortingly stroked the skin beside her ears. He glanced at her mouth and her smile. Then his voice grew huskier, just as it had been before she had told him the news. "And also I'm gonna do my damnest to make sure you don't fret, or get upset. I know you're still on the outs with Lillian, but I want you to forget about her for now. You said she's away, so maybe it's good for the both of you. Just forget about what happened between you two for a while, Mar."

She nodded again, as he leaned his face closer to hers. He was almost whispering now. His words gave her goosebumps.

"So please, let me do all that for you, Marylin Winchester." They both chuckled softly. "And let me kiss you."

Here, Marylin coyly blushed and looked away out of sudden shyness, which is why he only kissed the corner of her mouth. His stubble tickled, ghosted her skin. She slid her arms around his neck, inched further against him.

"It's just you and me for a lil' while," he said. He reached sideways to lock the door. "Until one of my staff decides to look for us."

"That's okay," she said.

They inched further into the room, towards the couch. Sam just wanted them to forget everything else that was out there—outside the door of his office. He had worries too. Sookie's wedding. The girl was positively annoying by now. And he still had his business. Equally important, there was Marylin. They needed each other.

"I could always stay," she said with a note of suggestion. "Stay the night, I mean."

Sam grinned. "You could. I got room for two. Better than a motel room."

The back of Marylin's calves hit the couch. She took back her arms to start unbuttoning Merlotte's shirt. "I think we should keep it quiet though," she said matter-of-factly.

"Between all the talk an' music an' Lafayette, I don't think we'll be heard," Sam answered. And then he assailed her with a proper kiss because he couldn't restrain himself any longer. He was a man after all.

And they hadn't seen each other in a couple of days. And she wanted him just as bad as he wanted her.

* * *

"You're not relaxin'. Breathe, Scott, like I told you," reminded Victor to son.

He paced around him in the clearing they were in. The sun shone in warm rays through the trees, steadily setting and bathing the two in orange light. Sharp shadows speckled here and there and streaked across the younger man's tense expression.

Even after what was nearly a week, control was still difficult to achieve. With constant thoughts of Marylin and Lilly and everyone else on his mind, Scott still couldn't reach into himself and calm his ever-aching anxiety.

"First of all, you've got to sit like I told you, son," his father chided. "Meditation begins with the proper pose."

Little had Scott known that his father thought himself a guru. But if had helped him gain control, perhaps it would eventually work on Scott as well.

"Are you going to make me wax a car next?" Scott growled, his eyes still closed. He tried to breathe as Victor had instructed. Deep in, slow out. Deep in, slow out. The problem was that he felt ridiculous.

"Along with washin' my floors, maybe. Good idea actually," his father said, completely serious. "It might help too." The man stopped in front of his son and crossed his arms.

"Pretend I'm not here. Concentrate. Think about yourself, an' what you've got inside. Pretend you're…" Victor pondered for a word with a faint smirk, "extinguishing it. I'm serious, Scott. Control comes from your mind, an' all you got to do is take the reins in yer own hands. You can do it. You just have to believe in yourself. It took me a while to realize because no one was ever with me, but you've got me."

"Pretend you're not here?" Scott asked with frustration as he opened his eyes. "I can smell you and hear you walking around me." Still, the boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes again.

"By the way, it doesn't look like you ever washed your floors before, so there's no point starting now."

Not only did he have no clue how to get this control, but he also didn't understand why Victor was doing this. Helping him, being all fatherly and caring. Scott couldn't get his mind around why his father hadn't just kicked him to the curb and left him. He felt guilty, Victor did, that's it. He felt guilty. Although Scott didn't call him out on it because…well because he didn't want his father to leave again.

Victor observed his son for a short while, reading the twitches in his face, still seeing the bother that was provoked by his thoughts, and sighed.

"Son," he squatted down before him, "only once you get over what's plaguing will you be able to grab the beast by the horns." Victor looked around the serene woods, watched the branches sway with the wind, litter leaves all around. "Try not to listen to me but…the trees and the wind. Listen to the forest around us. It's calm, so let it relax you."

Though he found himself wanting to growl rather than relax, Scott gritted his teeth and tried to do as Victor asked. He went past the sound of his father's breathing and heartbeat to hear the forest as the man had told him to. Though it took a few minutes, some of the aggravation did ease out of Scott's face.

Victor saw and stood and said, "Good. Keep listenin', keep breathin'…" Then he quietly started out of the clearing. Scott heard him.

"Hey!" he snapped. Immediately he opened his eyes to glare at his father. Scott hid the split second fear on his face when he saw Victor's retreating back.

His father turned around and chuckled lightly. "Just continue doing what I told you, son. You don't need me to monitor you. In fact, I think the next step is for you to be left alone for a bit. I'll be in the cabin makin' my Bambi stew."

Scott uncertainly watched Victor turn around once more. Sighing, Scott wiped a hand over his face, and after cracking his neck, once again settled down enough to close his eyes. The problem he found was that every time he started to relax and hear the forest again, something in the stupid wilderness would make a sound.

A squirrel, a coon, a little bird in the trees. Even a deer that was half a mile away. His eyes would snap open, he'd growl in irritation, looking for the animal that skittered away the instant it heard the threat that irrupted from his throat. Only after getting up and pacing around in circle a couple of times to stretch his legs, the young wolf actually began to get somewhere with the whole meditation thing.

It took an hour and a half for the boy to let his breath drift entirely out of him. As if he wasn't breathing at all. Light as a feather. The phrase was true. Serenity was able to lift the mind into the clouds. By this time, the sun almost set. The forest was alit by the glow of the darkening gray sky. The tension lines around the corner of his mouth smoothed. Scott didn't move. Not even flinching when a bird chirped and flew a few feet above him.

The clearing was filled with a dim, soothing coolness that drifted over him. The crescent moon glittered overhead between the clouds, its influence not felt at all. And steadily, he began to notice the smell of stew. It drifted between the trees from the direction of the cabin, stirring his hungry stomach.

Surely an hour and a half was enough.

Scott stood up and dusted off some loose sticks and leaves from his now-stiff ass before fixing his eyes on the distant cabin and heading to it. The closer he got, the stronger the smell of the stew. By the time he reached the door, his stomach, which had only been gurgling before, was full out growling.

"Lilly always loved that movie—Bambi," he said as he stepped through the door. His eyes immediately searched for the source of the food even as his nose already found it.

"Me too." Victor smiled crookedly when he saw the change in his son, and ladled stew into two of his bigger bowls. "How you feelin'?"

"Like I hope you made more stew," he said.

Right now, he wasn't willing to talk about the weird experience in the woods. Although, in truth—in truth, he did feel a little better. It felt like some of the weight that was constantly trying to grind him down into the ground had lightened.

Without any hesitance, he went to his father and eagerly held out his hands for one of the bowls. He was given a large chunk of bread, a spoon almost as big as the ladle, and set down at the table. Victor let out a laugh as his son tucked away, and began on his own bowl.

"Tell me there's nobody as good of a cook as I am, eh? No one as good at making stews, at least."

"Haven't had stew since Grandma died," Scott said with a small shrug. "But she never made deer," he informed him, grudgingly admitting that he liked his father's more. It could have been due to his more carnivorous appetite.

"Does your girl know how to cook?"

The spoon stopped half way to Scott's mouth as he thought of Marylin. After a second he continued and shook his head.

"She makes a mean grilled cheese," he said with a smile. "Lilly was the one that always cooked for all of us." His smile widened into a grin as he suddenly started talking about his family between bites. It just poured out of his mouth before he realized it.

"At one point, she read cookbooks in her spare time. Between hunts. We'd go to the library for research and she'd grab the cookbooks. We didn't mind because…well because the dinners we had after hunts really cheered us up. Luke and Josh could eat her food by the truck load, and fought constantly over the scraps."

That didn't mean that his sister was an amazing chef, because she wasn't. Her food was simply edible and often times quite creative and all of it was certainly enough to feed the twin bottomless pits.

"Maybe some of Lee Ann's talent passed onto her then." Victor smiled with fond thoughts and pondered them with a few spoonfuls. "Your mother wasn't too bad either. An' she liked me stew too."

Scott found himself already scraping the inside of the bowl with his spoon.

"What was she like?" he asked quietly, his eyes glued to his food.

"Fiery," Victor answered with soft tone. "Much like your sister seems to be. An' stubborn. Most stubborn woman I've ever met."

"Did that bother you?" Slowly, Scott's eyes drifted over to his father.

"Uh," he pondered for a moment. "No. No, because I was stubborn too, and we worked well as a pair, when…when we hunted together." Here Victor's face stilled and a slight grimness settled. But he forced another smile. "I'm sure she an' Jake were a good team too. They grew up together, after all."

"Grams always said she'd never seen a better pair than them…" Scott said quietly, for the first time feeling torn between his loyalties. "Bobby used to say that they'd go at it. They'd be yelling at each other and then… They'd just be fine and laughing like nothing was wrong."

Victor nodded and said, "Yep," before standing to get more stew for them.

Silence then drifted in, and both men contemplated their memories amid the warm aroma of broiled deer, which managed to dull away any bitterness. They were left to instead ponder the good remembrances of what they once had, even though they had it no more.

* * *

With his foot rested up on the paint chipped banister, Joshua pushed his chair back so that it balanced on the back legs and stared out over the lazy town of Bon Temps from his motel room's balcony. Marylin had left him earlier that night, and he wasn't stupid enough to think she'd be coming back. In fact, there was even a part of him that hoped she wouldn't. His cousin was too tense by far, like most of their little group. If running around with some country bumpkin was her tonic of choice, then far be it from him to ruin it for her.

But still the young hunter found himself fighting off a vibe of loneliness. It was a clear, cool silent night that led way to pensive thoughts. His brother had managed to steal Lilly away from him once again—simply put, he whisked her off to New Orleans. Despite the fact that Lilly now had a vampire boyfriend. And Scott was off with his father. So that left Joshua entirely by his lonesome.

It was fine. Whatever. He was never the controlling type. He wasn't needy either.

Still—honestly. Such a situation would irk anybody. Once more attesting to the fact that Marylin proclaimed: They really couldn't stay together as they once were. A tightknit group. Inseparable. Like the Mystery gang.

The idea made Josh smirk a tad. He imagined who everyone would be. Luke was probably Shaggy. Marylin, Daphne. Scott, Fred. Only because the two were once together. Lillian a caring Velma, which…left Scooby for Joshua to take.

Hell no. He wasn't Scooby. He would've traded places with Luke. Luke could've been Scooby. Although, what was the point now? What a stupid idea, anyway.

Joshua sighed and lowered his leg so that his chair returned to all fours. He momentarily wiped his hand over his face. It was times like these, when the distraction of the other gang members wasn't there, that his mind always turned to the past.

Would things have been different if their parents had survived? Would they still be a strong family instead of a fractured one? Could he and his brother have done something a year ago to keep the girls from leaving? Something _more_?

Surely they could've tried harder.

He reached into his back pocket and took out a wallet that had seen better days. The brown leather was creased and scratched, so old that it was more floppy than stiff from use. To him it was as good as new. It had been his dad's wallet, and aside from the duct tape that was across the seam on the inside to hold it together, it was perfect in his eyes.

Inside, tucked away in the check section were two items. One was a silver Celtic cross necklace, though the chain was missing, and the other was a small photo of two people that were obviously in love, for they both had smiles on their faces and looked like they never wanted to break their embrace. His parents. On a bench somewhere in a park in some city. The photo had a yellowing tink.

His father had shaggy hair—hah, shaggy—and his mother had beautiful shoulder-blade-length brown hair that was so thick and rich, Joshua couldn't imagine how she would've been like old. If streaks of silver streaked those tresses and wilted the volume.

Of course he could only imagine.

Perhaps it was dramatic of him to carry around tokens of the parents he barely remembered. But it was more than a little difficult to let their memories just slip away, even after all the years that passed. Bobby had never really said much about their parents—other than that they were good people and good hunters, and they loved their kids so much they had to give up their lives for them. Just as every hunter risks their life for the ones they save. It was a gamble with life. No one could predict tragedy. A false strike. Like soldiers. Enemies could reveal themselves any time, anywhere. Just like the demon.

Such lack of information often blew people up to larger than life images. Although it was better to have those notions, those fantasies that each of the children had, than to have none at all. So Joshua clung to them. He hoped that one-day they could say that they lived up to the great heroes their parents must have been.

* * *

"_Here you go—and there's more where that came from_."

The buxom curly-haired redhead smiled saucily (a twenty year-old version of a prettier Arlene), and Luke accepted his foamy, thirst-quenching glass of Bass. He took a prompt pull and smiled charmingly. The boy stuck a grateful tip into the woman's short little apron and winked, while Lillian rolled her eyes across from him.

"Thanks…" he peered at the waitress' nametag, "_Daisy_. You gotta be the most dedicated one here."

"I'd like to think so," said the redhead. "My customers'…_appreciation_ is much appreciated by me. Would you like anything else?" Her words lingered.

"Luke. Call me Luke."

"Oh. Luke. I do like your name."

A clearing of Lilly's throat reminded the waitress of the second beer glass that still remained on her tray. The redhead giggled stupidly and finally shoved Lilly's drink to her. All the while the waitress didn't take her eyes off Luke, who was so amused, he laughed and leaned forward.

"When do you get off work?"

"Uh," began the waitress. "'Round twelve. What, you maybe want to-?"

"You're asking _maybe_?" Lilly asked with a laugh. "I think I saw drool in the corner of his mouth." The blonde shook her head with a smirk and took a sip of her beer. The waitress looked back and forth at them, taken aback by her.

"So… you want to..." the waitress began again.

Luke grinned crookedly. "Yeah. Sure. You going to be here?"

The waitress nodded, and the hunter then leaned back in his chair, giving her an unabashed once-over. This only encouraged the women to flaunt her assets more.

"Awesome. See ya then, _Daisy_."

Giggling, the redhead waved daintily and sauntered away. She had the boy staring after her bum. A satisfied sigh escaped his mouth as he took another swill.

"I can always head back to Shreveport if that's what you'd like," said Lilly cheekily.

Their day had so far been perfect. After getting bored with trying to see the sights (wax museums, tours of old buildings and plantations, and a bit of the damage Hurricane Katrina did, of course), they'd explored some of the sections of the city themselves and had enjoyed every minute. Lastly, they had found a bar in the French Quarter.

"No, no, our rendezvous's gonna be later, past your bedtime, Lil," assured Luke, then smirked uncertainly. "You still go to sleep at, like, ten, don't you? That's…in twenty minutes, actually. Or are you a night owl now?"

"I didn't go to bed at ten before," she snapped lightly, and leaned back in her chair. "And actually, I am quite the night owl. I've decided to see for myself why you love it so much."

She winked.

"Mmhm. But I know that's not the only reason. You're probably forced to take naps during the day now. You're more of a night owl than I am. Hey, you never slept…in a coffin, did you?" he said, suddenly serious. He even glanced through the Cajun joint for any vampires that might've been around.

"'Cause that would just be…fucked up. You're not, are you, Lilly?"

The girl sighed and shook her head.

"I can't believe you just asked me that. I think—_hmm_." She looked around the bar, as if tallying votes before finally looking back at Luke. "Yep, you're an idiot. And no, I've never slept in a coffin."

"Good, 'cause we'd have a bigger problem then."

Luke enjoyed some more of his beer, oblivious to the girl's brief, partially apprehensive expression. He stared into the foamy glass a moment, before deciding to inquire further into the subject.

"You saw him last night, didn't you?" For the moment, Luke managed to withhold any hostility.

Lilly's expression fell. "What?"

Luke shrugged and diverted his eyes cross the floor. "You weren't in your room, and you're in a better mood, so I just…assumed. He didn't have a problem with you coming here with me?"

"No, why would he?" Lilly asked curiously. She regarded him carefully but was very willing to talk about her vampire if Luke was willing to listen with an open mind, which he seemed to be. For once.

"Well, he knows I'm here. Whether he likes it or not, that's the situation. I'm not a puppet, Luke, just because I'm with him." Her expression softened slightly and turned hopeful. "You know that right?"

"Sure," he shortly replied neutrally. "Vamps are usually possessive, though. Everybody knows that. But I guess if he isn't keeping you locked up then…then I won't have to do anything."

The boy glanced at Lillian's neck but saw no bite marks, unless they were elsewhere. He quickly gulped more beer and muffled a burp.

"Most of them that are civilized are living on Tru Blood anyway, right?" he asked nonchalantly. He prolonged his gaze pointedly.

The fact of the matter was that Eric didn't like Tru Blood, and, in fact, rarely if ever drank it. Though her hesitance was answer enough, she shrugged and looked away.

"I know there are some that live off of Tru Blood, but there are others that are civil that don't," she said casually.

Luke's eyes narrowed and guardedly asked, "So which kind is your boyfriend included in?"

"I'm not going to tell you if he loves Tru Blood or if he doesn't, Luke, because I don't think you should base how you feel about him on that alone." She shook her head and decided that apparently Eric wasn't a safe topic even with him. "I just would really love it if you'd give him a chance. Marylin certainly won't."

"Yeah, well, we'll see, and that's all I'm going to say right now. I got you now, but if he decides to interrupt this somehow, know that there's gonna be trouble." The warning was serious but then he smiled. "We're going to go gator wrestling tomorrow, and then later on a haunted tour. I've got it planned, and no one's gonna ruin it."

The longer Luke had Lilly with him, the better it was, for she was away from Eric, and it was best for both all of their sakes at present. Thus, Luke decided to be lenient for now.

"Now _I_ got my time with you," he reiterated as he lifted his glass. "So…let's commemorate with a couple of carbombs, shall we?" He swiftly flagged down Daisy, and then smirked at Lilly.

"Though we all know who's gonna win."

"It's good you can admit your loss now," she told him with her own smirk as the busty waitress quickly came.

As far as Lilly was concerned, she was all Luke's for as long as he wanted during the day. She hadn't had this much normal fun in quite some time. It was refreshing.

"Two carbombs," she told Daisy. "And you can wrestle a tiny gator, Luke. You know I'm very bribe-able when it comes to keeping your secrets."

Knowingly, she winked at him.

"Did you see those gators, though?" he asked her. "Their mouths are like this big," he gestured tipsily with his arms. "That's just the average. So you're going to need to be careful, or it'll swallow you whole. They like girls like you, 'specially ones named Lilly."

"Really?" she asked him with a laugh. "Maybe they'll give out name tags and I can write a different name on it. I'm not sure your head might fit in their mouths, though. It seems to be pretty big lately."

"Two carbombs," said Daisy as she set their drinks down in front of them.

"Thank you, Daisy, my dear," praised Luke. He observed her briefly as she left them again, before peeling his attention back to Lilly. "I'm sorry, Lils," he decide to apologize ahead of time. He lifted the shot over his glass. "It'll be your turn to buy."

"If you think so," she replied, before raising her own shot above her glass. "In 3… 2…"

Before Lilly got to one, she dropped the shot and started chugging. She tried not to laugh as she heard Luke swear and drop his shot to try to catch up. Because of her head start, she easily beat him. She smugly slapped her glass down onto the table when she was done, and a burp forced its way out her mouth.

"I believe you're paying tonight, _my dear._"

"Uh-huh, cheater!" he exclaimed. But he laughed and playfully nudged her leg with his foot under the table. "I was actually going to play fair this time." Luke took out his wallet anyway, all the while mock-glaring at her.

"Fine."

"I had to learn _something_ from you guys." When the bills were resting on the table, Lillian tipped back her beer to finish the rest off and stood up. "Come on, let's go for a walk. The night is still young and you've got a little time left before your date."

Luke stood, his mood bright and agreeable, but he looked at her with cheek.

"Sure you're not sleepy? Because…we haven't missed your bedtime yet."

The two started to the exit and he wound his arm loosely around her shoulders, not noticing a now-frowning Daisy who watched them go.

The night was warm and pleasant, and still young indeed, for the street was filled with barhopping night owls just like them. The normality of it was decidedly invigorating—just the two of them. Luke wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

_Sometime later…_

"_Bye, girls. See ya tomorrow_!"

"You're workin' from six tomorrow?" a coworker, a brunette, asked Daisy.

The redhead nodded and headed out of the Cajun bar, shiny bejeweled purse swinging at her hip and a thin sweater hung loosely over her shoulders. Her breasts were plump enough that if she chose to cover herself up all the way, she probably wouldn't have been able to. The sweater wouldn't button.

The girl lingered at the bar's entrance, a sudden hopeful look about her. She scanned the sidewalk and street for Luke. She deliberated on whether to meet him like they'd planed. A loose plan—not set in stone. But all things such as this were.

Although a dim woman, she knew what to expect. Yet there was always a little hope. All woman like her had hope. If this would work, maybe they could have breakfast together.

Except Luke was with that _other_ girl. First yes, Daisy thought they were friends, as she served them. Each time she returned to their table, she observed them carefully.

Brother and sister, maybe? But they didn't look alike. There were hints of flirtation that steadily began to disappoint the waitress. And as a finale, he had his arm around that girl as they left. He didn't even look back at Daisy.

Damn him. No breakfast then. Daisy started down the street.

She pouted down one block. She even growled quietly with fists clenched when no one was looking. She wanted to punch something, even though doing so would undoubtedly break a nail. She'd recently had them done, too, her nails. So she forced herself to breathe deeply in and out.

In and out. Take in the odors of the street and crisp mugginess of the city. It helped calm her.

She did not cry. There was no reason. There would be other possible men. There always were. She'd discover someone the next day.

Daisy turned down a street away from the hustle and bustle behind her. To where a residential area began, where she lived as most waitresses did in a cheap few-level apartment building. Here, most of the little shops and cafés had closed or were in the process of closing for the night. And the historic atmosphere of hundred-year-old structures gave an eerie atmosphere, enough to cast shivers even upon residents. The moon hung low and it was nearing midnight. There was nothing to fear—usually.

Daisy just held her purse closer to the side of her bosom and hurried her pace.

Maybe when she got home, she'd take a bath and then settle with a jug of ice cream and watch _Bridget Jones_. A chick-flick of that nature. Maybe she could call a friend up and bitch about Luke. About her job. About men. How they were all the same. They had dicks upstairs too.

Pouting once more, Daisy didn't realize someone was following her. One of those very same beings she thought had second penises instead of brains.

She didn't hear his footsteps because he moved deftly, and he blended into the dark because of the dark clothes he wore. He was literally a blur as he swept past her.

Daisy gasped softly when his trailing wind touched her face. She thought she saw him hide in the darkness of a narrow alley just ahead of her.

"_Where are you heading off to_?"

There was an accented purr in his words. An accent she couldn't place. She couldn't see his face much less the rest of him.

"W-what? Why do you care?" Daisy held her purse tighter, looked around quickly to find the dark street empty. She stepped back with a fear any woman (of any age) would have if an unknown man confront her.

She thought about just running by but he stepped out into the sidewalk, in front of her, before she could. The man was very tall and very pale and blonde. And oh, God. He was a vampire. She wasn't _that_ stupid.

"What do you want?" she cried out.

"Calm down, cherry pie." Eric strutted towards her until he was a meter away. He adopted what he thought was an innocent lilt to his voice. "I just want to know why you're calling it a night so early."

"Why?" The woman's whole face quivered, half in disgust and half in her fright. "Y-You thought 'bout walking me home an-and takin' a bite out of me?"

Eric sighed in annoyance.

"No, not at all, actually. I'm not hungry tonight, and I don't like cherry. Especially when it's been bitten out of one too many times." Perhaps not vampires but other men. Daisy was a bonafide slut. He smirked when, after only after a moment, she understood his mocking.

"Although I know for a fact there's someone that was interested."

A chill passed through Daisy, from the toes of her stilettos to the nipples of her breasts. She suddenly wished she'd covered her melons. "Who?"

"Who? That young man you've had your eye on all night. He was with that blonde girl."

Daisy scoffed. "_Him._ I ain't interested in him anymore."

"And why not?"

"He's _with_ that blonde girl."

This had Eric's teeth clenching. "I can assure you they're not."

Daisy thought for a beat or two, wondering whether to believe the vampire or not. He wasn't biting her—or raping her—or doing that hypnotic thing they did. So why did he care?

"Why do you care about all of it, n'eway?"

Eric crossed the distance between them until he was a foot away from her, towering over her short frame. Any woman compared to him was short. She gasped, froze, stared at him like a deer in headlights.

"Because that blonde girl is with _me,_" he said. "And I'd been hoping—very much—that you'd distract her friend for me. You see I didn't like seeing them together either."

Daisy nodded slowly, didn't blink once. She stared, as if already glamoured, by the twinkling of Eric's blue eyes.

"Alright," she said finally. "But…"

"But what?"

Daisy looked the man up and down. Nicely dressed. Expensive leather jacket. Expensive-looking shoes. Leather too. Nice, sexy cologne. Bulgari. She was an expert at these things. He must've had money. And if this was going to be a deal between them. One could never predict when opportunity struck. Daisy knew when to take advantage.

"If you aren't lyin'…" she said and lingered. She pulled on her own sexy air, stuck out her bosom, pouted her lips. She even lifted a finger to run it through her hair. "What's your name?"

"Eric Northman," answered the sheriff. His patience would soon run thin. It was five to midnight now.

"Well, Mr. Northman," she continued. She didn't touch the man, as she would've normally. A stroke to the chest or cheek. She outwardly masked the fear he could smell, anyway. "We got a deal only if…we make it—if we make it two-hundred."

"Two-hundred," repeated Eric, as if he didn't understand her.

"Two-hundred for the night."

A vein twitched in his temple. "Do you moonlight as a call-girl as well?"

"Maybe?" Daisy crossed her arms to seem badass and serious. Inside, she was shaking. "A girl's gotta make ends meet somehow."

Eric growled suddenly and she flinched. Thinking he'd take a piece of her neck right then and there, she whimpered. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine." And he reached inside his jacket to take out his wallet. By the light of the streetlamps, Daisy saw the wad of…probably more than hundreds. She should've asked for more than two but held her tongue.

"Here," and she gingerly took the cash. "Run along now. We don't want him to think you stood him up."

"No, no," she assured. She tucked the money away into her purse and pulled her sweater on more snug. "Th-thanks."

Eric only nodded, expressionless. Flew off into the night. She shrieked, then quickly ran back to the bar.

* * *

"_Luuuke_," hailed a saucy voice from behind them.

The two passed the tavern that they had their drinks at earlier that night, and sure enough, Daisy the Busty Waitress stood on the front step. The woman smiled and hurried down the entrance way to them.

"You were just going to pass me up?" she asked and forced a giggly laugh.

Little did Luke know that _she_ was the one who had been going to pass him up.

Lilly was surprised at how quickly time had gone.

"Is it twelve already?" Twelve-ten her wristwatch read. Though she wished she had more time with him, she then grinned and shoved her hands into her pockets and took a couple steps back.

"You kids have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't."

Luke frowned a little and gave Lillian a light nudge on her shoulder.

"Hey, we got tomorrow together. Gator wrestling, remember? Then more bar-hopping. You ever go a haunted tour while drunk? It makes the experience even more ridiculous." The waitress took Luke's hand and tugged him in the opposite direction, and he gave a goofy laugh, saluting Lilly.

"You and me," he repeated. The waitress took no offense from that, as she smiled slyly and gave the blonde a dismissing wave. There was a glint in her eye, but hey, at least both knew it would only be a one-night stand.

"It's a date!" Lilly called after him, grinning and returning the wave.

Even though she blustered earlier about how she was a night owl and didn't need naps during the day, the moment she turned away from them in direction of the hotel, she yawned. Luke had kept her out and about all day and not once had she slept. The idea of turning in early was an attractive one.

When she reached her hotel room door, however, it was cracked open. The girl's shoulders tensed and immediately she reached for the comforting cold steel of a gun in her pocket.

Inside the room, the window had been opened, the curtains gently fluttering in the breeze. No one was seen. With her gun pointed towards the shadows, she used her free hand to flick the lights on, but rather than fire, she smiled and shook her head.

Relief washed over her.

"Sometimes, only sometimes, mind you, the less mysterious entrance can be just as gratifying as the one shrouded in mystery," she told the familiar figure.

Dropping her arm down by her side, she went to Eric with a happy sigh. And he smiled cunningly.

* * *

_The next morning…_

"_Bacon and eggs, with a side hash browns and chocolate chip waffles_."

The portly waiter placed the plates before Joshua.

"Perfect," said the boy with a grin. He resituated himself on his red, vinyl-covered stool.

"Think you'll want anymore?" the waiter asked with a dubious look, but Joshua waved him off.

"I'll let you know," was his only reply before he eagerly started digging into his meal.

The diner might not have been _Merlotte's_, but there was no missing small-town feel. The pine-paneled walls were covered in the high school sports memorabilia along with pictures of residents from long past. It was slightly redundant, but Joshua wouldn't leave Marylin and only hoped she would return soon, for the sticks were far more boring without her.

The boy tried to suppress his minor annoyance as he ate. It was half-past ten already, the town was at the liveliest peek it would be in all day, and Joshua had to figure out what he would do after his breakfast. Return to the motel or amble around town, though something told him the several days' worth of stay already allowed him to see Bon Temps' entirety and beyond. And Josh was too loath to make any friends among here.

Little did he know that his contemplation had an audience.

"_Joshua_."

At the stern voice, the boy gasped through a mouthful of eggs and nearly choked on them. Through watery eyes, he saw the man that was standing beside him (and who knows for how long already) and glanced around to find the rest of the restaurant as slow and oblivious as it was before, even though an angel was right there among them.

"You're alone," Castiel observed disapprovingly. "Please tell me that you and Marylin haven't split up as well now."

"It depends on how you define _split_," replied Josh breathily as he cleared his throat and took a drink of his milk. "She's with Sam, and no, not permanently. I really don't think I could take spending much more time in this town if I didn't have to."

"Yes, I agree the pace here is very…" the angel briefly studied the diner, "dilatory. But once Luke and Lilly return, you should be able to leave. You _have_ called them, haven't you?"

"Yeah I did, but Luke said they like it in New Orleans so they're not coming back for a little while." Josh shrugged and took a big bite of his syrup-laden waffles.

But now the angel didn't look very happy, and leaned towards him, bracing a hand on the table. "Fine. Then I will let you to join them. Go get Marylin," he said.

"You'll _let_ me to go to them?" Joshua repeated, and felt his ire begin to rise. "I appreciate you looking out for us, Castiel, but you really don't let us to do anything. We go where we want to, and besides, Mar isn't going to want to leave."

"I want all of you to stay together, and I know you do as well, Joshua. Go speak with her. You can try to persuade her. Whether she will admit it or not, she does not want your group to sever again either. All of you are aware of how difficult this past year has been," Castiel reminded pointedly. "And what has become of it."

Just because Castiel's words were true, it didn't make them any easier for Joshua to digest.

"I can try and talk to her, but she's not going to leave. I'm telling you, she won't do it. There's—Something happened between her and Lilly, and she wants nothing to do with her anymore."

Annoyance twitched in the angel's face, and it was almost unnatural for him, but he leaned off the table and then regained his stern composure.

"Then she will have to put it aside. Please call her and tell her to come here," the angel said, and gave Joshua no choice as he didn't leave.

* * *

The phone's most unwelcome ringing woke the two right up, and Marylin was forced to reach over Sam and answer the call, only to stifle a muffled swear as Joshua told her the situation and who was with him. She had the urge to simply stand them up and remain in bed, but she realized with paranoia that they'd then be finding the angel knocking on their door, or worse just appearing without explanation. And that was something neither she nor Sam needed, especially Sam.

"Egh, I have to go. I'm sorry… Joshua needs me for something." Marylin clenched her phone in her hand and sat up, reaching for her clothes, which were draped on a nearby chair.

Sam pushed himself up onto his elbow. "For what?"

"Hunter bullshit," she said distractedly. "Bullshit that happens every so often." Then she lifted a hand because Sam was rising. "Don't worry. It's just stuff between us. Castiel, that guy I told you about, is meddling in our business."

Sam stood regardless to put on his own clothes. His pants at least. "You sure you won't need me? He isn't gonna pick a fight, is he?"

Marylin paused only because she wondered what happened when angels got pissed. She tried to be as assuring as she could so Sam wouldn't worry.

"No, no, I don't think so. He…doesn't seem like someone who would. But I'll call you. And I'll definitely come back."

After fixing her belt, she grabbed her jacket, made sure she wasn't forgetting anything in Merlotte's bedroom. Sam watched her, a little silent. He was a bit disappointed. But they had a great night.

"Well, be careful anyway, Mar." He intercepted her at the door and gave her a kiss, held her to show her how loath he was to let her go. "I'll be at the bar. And…since you're gonna be here for a while, if you're still interested…maybe we can get to making you one of my waitresses. If ya still want."

Marylin smiled. "Oh, I do want to." She lifted a hand to his chest and looked down at it. "I'll come by later and…try that uniform on for you."

Her unexpected flirt made Sam chuckle huskily. Holding her by the hips, he pulled her a little closer.

"Oh yeah?" He inched back towards her mouth. "I like the sound of that." He slowly kissed her and said against her soft lips, "Can't wait."

The husk to his words made his drawl even sexier. She shivered, blushed, returned the kiss and stroked his stubbly cheek.

He didn't want to let her go but at last she reached around him to open the door. "I'll call," she repeated again. "Promise."

"'Kay." Leaning a forearm against the doorframe, he watched her trot down the steps of his porch. The grin on his face wouldn't leave and he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this good. Not only mentally.

* * *

"_See, I told you it would be good_."

Smiling, Joshua watched the angel's face after he took a bite of a chocolate chip waffle. "What do you think?"

"It's…chocolaty," Castiel said in a tone that contradicted the word's intended meaning.

Because they were waiting for Marylin, both of them were sitting in the same diner and Josh was pestering the angel with all sorts of questions about angel duties and what was located upstairs (heaven), until he'd finally grown bored with that and tried to get the stiff to eat. Castiel hadn't given him any straight answers, and even if you held a knife to his throat, he probably wouldn't then either.

He put the fork down with a vague air of indifference. He wasn't particularly fond of food because he didn't require it, but he didn't tell the boy that and just looked away to the window, through which to his evident relief, he saw Marylin. And then Joshua did too.

She was shocked to find them there, especially after seeing the plate in front of the angel.

"What, did you two decide to join each other for breakfast?" she asked. Castiel stood, and his face resumed its previous gravity.

"No. I found Joshua here, and then I learned you were elsewhere."

"Yeah, I was. Is that a problem?" Marylin looked at her cousin suspiciously, and guardedly went around the angel. "What's this about?" she said.

"Castiel wants us to come back together, Marylin," said Joshua carefully, his brows drawn together. "He doesn't like us apart." It was becoming a broken record with the angel, and though Josh was sick of hearing it, he knew he had an obligation to try to convince his cousin.

The woman looked at the angel and crossed her arms, saying, "Well, tough. Do you really want to start it again, Castiel?"

"No, but I may have to," he looked prepared to quarrel with her, and she was incredulous at how audacious he was.

"You cannot stay apart forever, and I know that inside you don't want to either, no matter how hard you try to convince us otherwise." Hi tone softened when he saw her fill with ire. "Marylin, don't to deny it. You need to reconcile, before it becomes too late and corrodes anything else."

Marylin stared at him, and then finally found her voice. "Do you have a degree in psychology on top of your cupid credentials?"

"No, Marylin, I've already told you—"

But she cut the angel right off. "You think you know me?"

"I do." Utter conviction.

The prick. Marylin scoffed.

Castiel's voice rose. "Marylin, I've made it my responsibility to watch out for you. I've watched all of you break apart once before, and I will not let it happen again."

"Then you should've stopped us the first time. Where the hell were you? No. Where were you during all of our lives?" she bitterly said, and then started to the exit.

"I was watching over you," he repeated louder.

"Really? Thanks for letting us know," she barked. Then she growled, "Bullshit."

All of their lives, she, Lillian, Scott, the Twins—all of them—had thought they were alone. With only two old folks, Bobby and Lee Ann, to watch out for them, raise them. It was a miracle they had the strength. In the end Lee Ann's heart gave out. But apparently they had a guardian angel this whole time.

Some angel. With the shit their little group went through. All of the situational and emotional turbulence and wringing. The hunting.

Several heads turned in the diner and watched her storm back out of the place, and Castiel seethed at the accusation, which he wasn't given a chance to refute. Joshua sighed and looked at him as the boy took a few bills out and dropped them on the table. Then, he left the angel and rushed out after his cousin.

Catching up down the sidewalk, he pointed back at the diner and demanded:

"Marylin, what was that? What has _happened_ to you?" Concern marred his features—he understood that Marylin was upset, but not why she had acted that way. "You went way too far in there." The boy stepped forward and caught her shoulder with one of his hands, and gently spun her around. "Talk to me, Cuz. Come on. You always used to before. Don't stop now. What's wrong?"

"Who does that asshole think he is?" Marylin demanded angrily. "If he's who he says he is, where was he before, huh? Why now? Why did he show up now? When the shitstorm finally happened, not when the wind just began to pick up." She glared with a glistening gaze back to the diner, through whose windows Castiel was seen standing.

Marylin hushed her voice to a hiss and tightened her jaw as she turned back to her cousin.

"Joshua, do you really believe him? Why haven't you agreed with me? It's over. Why is he forcing us to make up?"

"Because… I _don't_ think it's over, Mar," the boy admitted. "We've been together for nearly thirty years. I find it really hard to believe that some little fight is enough to ruin that."

He looked her over warily and shrugged.

"We're a family. We _need_ each other, but all families have their problems. You know that. The fact that we can work them out is what should keep us together. The only thing keeping that from happening is the fear of trying to work it out."

"But we were each other's weaknesses, don't you remember?" she said, and then insisted, "We're better apart. We are, Joshua. We're…we're not our parents. We fought at all the time. And it even began to affect our hunting. Don't you remember when Scott—"

"You think our parents didn't fight?" he laughed shortly. "They weren't angels. Bobby can attest to that. But you're right, we're not our parents. Though that doesn't mean we can't try to be better than them." The boy tossed a loose arm around her shoulders, pulled her close. "If we were really each other's weaknesses, we all would have split up a long time ago, earlier. But we're also each other's strength."

Josh grinned and started leading her towards her car that was in the parking lot.

"You know why I definitely think us being apart is bad for us?"

Marylin bit the inside of her mouth and grudgingly asked, "Why?"

"Because you're more of a sour puss now than you've ever been. You bitch all the time!"

"I do not!"

He looked at her with a raised brow. "Yes, you do."

"Fine, I do. But that's why I think I need a break, Joshua. Hunting has been—it's taken a lot out of me lately." And Scott.

"Well, yeah, you said you went up against some psycho goddess who possessed a whole town. That'll stress anyone out."

"At least Lillian found a way to forget," Marylin grumbled.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Joshua pondered. "Even though it's a vampire."

"Sam's not a vampire," she said pointedly.

"Well, good. But he _is_ a hick."

"He happens to be a smart hick."

"Well, I'm glad. I should properly meet him some time."

Marylin unlocked the car and they got inside. "I could set something up…"

"Awesome. Maybe later. I think I saw some cool hick shooting targets in the local gun store that might be fun to get. I know you've always wanted to shoot a foldable turkey the size of a Volkswagen bug."

"Joshua…" Marylin looked back and through the windows now saw the angel was thankfully gone. "Josh," she sighed and wiped her eyes. "If Castiel comes back with the same shit," she began to warn, though she was finally deflated.

"Then we deal with it," replied Joshua with a shrug. "That's all we can do."

Marylin took a second or two to compose herself, to take a breath of the warm atmosphere, while glancing around one last time to find Castiel.

He was truly gone. So, she forced herself to relax, calming to the thought of shooting turkeys, and the thought of Sam and spending more time with him. Even modeling the waitressing uniform for him.

Yes, waitressing. How normal was that.

And if it weren't for Josh—sweet, little Josh—being there with her, she would've lost it long before.

Visiting the shooting range was always a good stress reliever. Even _if_ the range was a shabby building with an ever-present, humid must seeped into every animal-head-covered wall and every thing on the shelves.

There was also the smell of fish because the building housed fishing equipment, not only hunting. The "range" consisted of a back room with only two targets, pine-paneled just like the diner had been, with the targets hanging on a hook and squeaky string draw system. It got stuck every now and then, needed a few sharp tugs.

Regardless, it was fun, felt like old times. An hour and a half. The owner, an old hunter (one who shot animals), was incredibly obliging. The two amazed him with their marksmanship. Afterwards, they stopped for six-pack of beer and pizza.

Marylin wanted to spend more time with her favorite cousin. And delicious, cheesy, hot pizza was also a good cure for melancholy. Joshua couldn't wait to assail a slice.

"Hey, just a few more feet, Goliath. Don't be like Luke and leave only half by the time we sit down at a table," she said as she parked back at the Bon Temps Inn and opened her door.

"I won't, I won't," Joshua promised, laughing. "I'm not Luke. I can hold it." Still, he lifted the box to his nose and took in a deep breath.

Oh, the smell. God bless those Italians. Rather Pizza Hut.

"We should've gotten two, though."

"Probably. Just means you'll have to diet for today."

"Aw," he said.

Marylin carried the six-pack, Joshua the pizza. She'd have to pry it out of his hands. They crossed the lot smiling and laughing and anxious to fill their stomachs. Marylin appeared a little uncertain with what she wanted to say next:

"Uh, Joshua? Thank you. Um, thank you for today. For cheering me up."

"Of course, cuz. It's become my job," he chuckled. "Maybe you'll start to take it easy from now on."

"Yeah, I think I will. I'll try. I promise."

"Good."

"Because I need to," Marylin sighed. "I know I need to. And I do need to relax, and not be so difficult, and such a bitch. And—and I need to fix things with Lillian, somehow…eventually. And then with Castiel—"

Joshua was listening. But then suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks because there ahead of them before their motel room door, there was a man leaning against a worn-out 69' Chevy Chevelle, his back to them because he leaned against the hood. Marylin was looking down meanwhile.

"Bobby?" Joshua said with surprise. His cousin did a double-take. "Geez, Bobby is that _you_?" Joshua laughed.

The old man turned around—maybe his hearing was starting to get bad so that's why he hadn't heard their voices.

"_Kids? Josh, Mar?_"

The man was nearing sixty, of regular height, bearded and baseball-capped. He had a small beer belly but appeared fit enough to carry on through the last few years of hunting that he allowed himself. He always amazed the kids with his strength. Each time they saw him, he aged a few but still held on well.

He trudged around his car as if to scold them.

"Where ya idgets been? I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past hour! Saw your car is here, Marylin. I thought something happened!"

Even Marylin was grinning. "We were at the shooting range, so that's why we didn't pick up. Bobby, you didn't tell us you were coming!"

"I told you I needed to finish up a hunt, then I was gonna come," he told her, and stopped before them, looking them over. Like a stern parent would. "I thought you'd be long gone from this Podunk."

Even for Bobby, of a different generation (who wasn't into those stylish, badass leather and aviator glasses their group wore) this town was the sticks for him. He himself was from Nebraska, owned a salvage yard, and collected old cars between hunts and steadily, very steadily, restored them.

His car had needed to be painted properly for years.

"Where's Luke and Lilly? And Scott?"

"Luke's with Lilly in New Orleans," Joshua explained. "And Scott's—"

"Scott's hunting on his own," Marylin quickly answered. "Oh, Bobby…" It was relief for both kids. Bobby was like a father they hadn't seen in a long while. And after all they went through…

Simultaneously, they assailed the old man in a bear hug and nearly crushed the pizza and beer and the old man cried out:

"Kids! Easy! I'm old. Umph." They held onto him and rocked from side to side and Bobby couldn't breathe. "It's good—it's good to see you two young'ens too. I missed you too." He stroked their backs. Yes, he missed them too. After all, he'd raised them since they were kids. "Umph, but—but you're gonna have to let me go or—" Finally they let him go.

Marylin was a little teary-eyed. Joshua wouldn't stop grinning ear-to-ear.

"Now, look, you crushed the pizza," Bobby scolded. Although it was lighthearted now.

"You wanna join us?" Joshua asked excitedly.

Bobby stared at him for a few beats, blank-faced. Then. He said:

"'Course, I do! You know I don't give a hoot about my cholesterol."

"_Alrigh_'!" And Joshua wrapped his arm around the hunter's shoulders. Bobby _umph_'d again. And the three of them went inside.

"You two should've gotten two boxes."

Joshua smirked at Marylin, who shook her head.

"I was gonna have us stop by that place called _Merlotte's_ I saw near here, after I met up with you guys," Bobby explained.

"That's alright, Bobby," said Josh. "We can do it later. As a matter-of-fact…Marylin can get us a free dinner there now. She's their new waitress."

"Waitress?" cried the old man.

Marylin grinned. "Heh. Yes, sir."

* * *

**-So there's Bobby, another addition. He'll be pivotal for the kids' development. Sorry that there wasn't _that_ much of Lilly and Eric, but they've had enough limelight. And we _will _return to Evelyn. She'll be important for Castiel. Being around him will help de-stiffify him. Lol. **

**-You'll also observe Marylin as a waitress. Worried?**

**-Sookie's wedding. Bill won't be kidnapped. At least not _yet_. We want the two married. **

**-Lillian and Mar will be forced to make up. And Eric will have to meet the twins. Perhaps even Bobby and Castiel. Maybe. Also Scott should be making a homecoming as well. Although you Mar/Sam supporters don't worry! This doesn't mean Marylin will be taking Scott back. **

**_So! Tell us your thoughts, and keep a look-out at True Blood Wiki for our story._**


	22. The Other Side of this Life

**It's been a while, we know. And we understand if you were pissed. Hopefully you'll give us a chance to redeem ourselves. We're back on board. Lots more to go before the finale of Part 1.**

**Also, yes, the title has been changed, modified, because there's a part two. And the website has gotten a make over. natrublood(dot)com  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

….

Would you like to know a secret just between you and me  
I don't know where I'm going next, I don't know who I'm gonna be  
But that's the other side of this life I've been leading  
That's the other side of this life.

Well my whole world's in an uproar, my whole world's upside down  
I don't know where I'm going next, but I'm always bumming around  
And that's another side to this life I've been leading  
And that's another side to this life

~ Jefferson Airplane

….

It was nearing 11 PM already, but there was still more catching up to do. Relating all of what happened the past month would take a while. To Marylin, it felt longer than that, longer than a month.

What they had first thought was a werewolf trail turned out to actually be a Maenad. Then out of it, out of Lilly's mistake of a trip to Dallas, the _thing_ that sprouted between her and Sheriff Eric. _How_ in the world a thousand-year-old vampire would find interest, let alone even simple friendly relations with a hunter was further beyond Marylin than figuring out how Sookie and Bill's marriage life would go. Marylin didn't know where to begin.

Little did she know…it sprouted from something very similar that had fallen between her and Sam Merlotte. Just—_understanding_. Understanding that arose from unforeseen events that brought two unlikely people together, coincidental or planned. Who knew.

The third bump in the road had been their injured car. It was fixed now, Marylin's beloved Camaro, but it had been what initially glued them to Bon Temps. Scott's return still shook her, too, even though he was long gone with his father. Doing whatever they were doing to help Scott "get control" of his beast. It was doubtful, in Marylin's eyes—sad and a subject she just preferred not to talk about.

Any of it, actually, so she chose her words carefully, enlightening Joshua simultaneously as well. She left out Scott's turning and Lilly's new boyfriend being a vampire, and Castiel (actually, she had tried so hard to forget him that he slipped her mind). Joshua only knew about Eric and the latter, but Bobby definitely didn't need to know about either. At least not right now. Just wondering what time would be good enough gave her a light headache. Lilly needed to be there. And Marylin wasn't ready to see her yet.

"This is just not _like_ you guys," Bobby repeated for the fourth time. They finished the pizza, the beer, the chips and beef jerky Josh had gone afterwards to get. At some point, he was also sent to get the whisky—although it was more for their old man than the younger hunters.

Bobby had told them before accepting the first glass: _"Like my daddy always said, "Just 'cause it kills your liver, don't mean it ain't medicine.""_

Presently, he was on his fifth. Or sixth. He lost count.

"Stayin' here—in this—sorry, Marylin, but_ Bumblefuck._ This place isn't exactly a vacation spot. Head to the Gulf, at least!—If you four want a break. You're close by it. You ain't the only hunters who've thought about taking a break from the fan-hitting shit we see all the time. I tried countless times when I was younger." The old man spread his arms with his speech. "Huntin' always found me in the end, of course, but I tried. I just hope you're luckier than I was."

"I don't think we are by much, Bobby," muttered Joshua. One elbow on the table, the other arm leaning on the back of his chair, the boy sat with his head hung and staring at the floor at his feet.

Before Bobby asked him to elaborate, Marylin interrupted.

"We've been here for a while already, and…with everything that's happened, with Lilly, and, well, with me, this place has proven not to be so bad. It's quiet."

The old man took a drink and swallowed a throat-clearing. "I'm not gonna pretend I'm your daddy 'cause I'm not, so I'm not gonna lecture you. You two are grown women and you got heads on your shoulders. But I still have to say, Marylin—it's gonna be tough."

"I know, Bobby."

"If your men ain't hunters. It's tough with civilians."

"Yes, of course," Marylin answered.

"Having to hide what your actual jobs are—for their own safety—"

"Bobby," she cut him off. She smiled tensely and put down her half-empty beer can. "Bobby, you'll be surprised. They were involved with the Maenad, so they've witnessed…a lot."

Bobby squinted at her with bushy brows. "And they're not shaken up?"

"Well, they've swallowed it."

"Fangs exposing themselves ain't the worst of it, Mar. I mean, they're still monsters, but they at least _say _they want to live peacefully among us. If one of them screws up, it's the law now that's able to take care of it. But," Bobby shook his head, "the rest of them. The _Others_. The world isn't ready for them and never will be. A Maenad pops up here, a skinwalker there. Exposing itself to people. You got a whole town itchin' to get into a nutter ward."

Marylin clasped her hands in front of her as if annoyed—Joshua could tell.

Yes, old Bobby liked to lecture even if he said he wouldn't, but he meant well.

"Actually, Bon Temps doesn't remember anything," she said flatly.

"But it sure will catch up to them eventually. Maybe not all, but a few. And that's enough. That, and us—making it worse for them."

Marylin's eyes suddenly simmered. "How am I making it worse?"

Bobby sighed heavily and leaned back into his chair, his beer gut rounder and bigger by now. "By us bein' around 'em, Mar. A constant reminder."

"Trust me, Bobby," Marylin hissed without meaning to. She put a hand on the table in front of her. Joshua jumped from the slight slap and lifted his head. "They're fine," Marylin told the old man. "I'm careful."

Bobby lifted a hand to stop the expected Marylin-esque swell. "Okay, okay. I was just sayin'. Just be careful is all."

Marylin sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. "I'm probably the most careful in our group," she said somewhat haughtily, then pointedly glanced at Joshua. "Josh, too."

Joshua couldn't deny this fact, but he also didn't like to see, there beneath the steel of Marylin's gaze, the wordless reminder of Lilly again. How care_less_ she was. So he looked away.

Silence slid between the three of them. Bobby let out an exhausted sigh, finished his whiskey, and then yawned. It was enough discussion for the night, and it was already half passed two in the morning.

"'Nough talk. Let's get some sleep. It'll do all of us some good. Hopefully Lillian and your brother will get here tomorrow," the old man said to Joshua, because Marylin was already out of there, even though her body remained. She stood, tired, grumpy, and yes, sleepy, too. She decided she'd stay in her room that night though, not wanting to wake Merlotte and relate to him the conversation. Plus, he was probably sleeping by now.

Joshua followed his cousin out, the forced smile on his face faint. "Good night, Bobby."

"Night, Kiddos."

* * *

_Lillian and Luke arrive midday._

* * *

"It was here. It's here, man, chill," said Luke.

His digging was becoming frantic as he got to the bottom of his duffle bag. His stash. Well, his and Joshua's stash of money (which Luke had taken to New Orleans because he wanted to spend some) Luke couldn't find. Of course, he hadn't told any of this to Joshua—after all, Luke and Lilly had split rather quickly after the thing with the doctor and the demon.

Since the trip was cut short because of Bobby's arrival, Luke didn't get a chance to do the spending what he'd wanted. But spending or no spending, it didn't matter now because….well, because the money—the money _was_ gone.

Luke stopped searching and straightened with a blank, blinking expression. Oh, shit.

"Okay, maybe it's not here," he said. Then he quickly decided to throw the blame. "Josh, I think you kept most of the money in your makeup bag."

"Its not a makeup bag," Joshua snapped. But still, he went to check his own duffle and look. After digging around the toothbrush, que-tips, and nail clippers, the boy looked back up at his twin with a glare.

"I _know_ you took it to New Orleans," he accused. "You'd knocked all my stuff out of my bag to get to it before you left, just like you always do."

"Yeah, well," Luke began heatedly. Then, his barb died before it even reached his tongue. He spun around to pace, gazing through the half-open window of the room, past the parking lot and its few cars. He tried to _think_. Think. Think.

"We got there three days ago," he spoke aloud. "I had it all that time 'cause I was paying for the bars and the gator wrestling. And then." His face slowly fell.

Pretty redhead. Nice rack. Waitress, who he took to their hotel. And then…

It dawned on Luke. "Oh, shit. It was Daisy. Lil—" Lilly sat on one of the beds. Luke went to her. "Lillian, it was that goddamn waitress Daisy!"

If Luke was waiting for a look of amazement to cross over Lilly's face, he was disappointed. The blonde just looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk.

"I thought she had a little too much swing in her hips." Not that swing was needed. After all, they'd done their fair share of filching and never needed to swing their hips.

"What waitress?" Josh demanded, feeling his annoyance cross into just being plain pissed off.

"Just this chick," Luke mumbled dismissively, running a hand through his long hair. "God, she was sneakier than I thought."

Joshua had to resist the urge to tackle and pummel his brother to within an inch of his life. "That was the REST of our money, Luke!"

"And you could've have been more responsible and just put in the bank like most people," Luke said, before flinching backwards as Joshua threatened to throw a punch.

"ME BE RESPONSIBLE?"

"Easy, Josh," Lilly tried to soothe, as she stood up smoothly from the bed and crossed in between the two. "He'll get it back. Somehow."

Luke shrugged, took a slight step back, and grinned a grin too confident.

"Yeah—'course I will. That was my money in there too, you know. I'll get it back. You know, bro, I keep my word. Where's Marylin, anyway?" He changed the subject on purpose. It was rare to see Joshua this mad, and though he was more passive than him, it was a startling sight.

Even though Joshua didn't look pacified, he shook his head and turned back to putting his duffle bag in order. "She's working. Sam gave her a waitressing job since they're short staffed."

Lillian's eyes widened. "She's working there?" When Joshua nodded, she looked over at Luke.

He laughed, from both shock and sudden eager. Both Lilly and his brother stared at him like he was crazy. Luke jumped at the unexpected idea that fell into his lap.

"They're sort staffed?"

"Guess so," muttered Joshua.

"Well, how much does he pay?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Joshua snapped.

Luke went up to him and slapped him on the shoulder. Joshua jumped and was about to attempt another hit at him, before Luke said this: "Because, bro, I think we just found a solution!"

From time to time, to earn money, they had worked odd jobs. So this wouldn't be new at all. It was a sure sign! Joshua followed where Luke was going with this. Joshua shook his head and grabbed a sweater from his bag to change into.

"By all means, go for it," he encouraged. "You lost the money, you can get it back."

Luke laughed dryly. "It's gonna take weeks. What're you two going to do meanwhile?"

"Watch you work to get the money back," his twin told him as he pulled the sweater on over his head. The sudden static from the sweater had his hair standing on end.

Lilly watched the brothers and rolled her eyes. "Or maybe you could help him and get the money back twice as fast, Josh."

This was not something Josh wanted to do and it was made obvious when he spun around to look at her. "What do you mean _help him_? He didn't need any help losing it, why should I help him get it back?"

Luke grinned and couldn't help but laugh at his hair. "'Cause you'll make 'em laugh, bro. A bar always needs entertainment."

"What do you mean?" Josh asked, looking between the two. Luke put a hand on his chest, laughing his butt off.

Joshua of course couldn't see his hair. "What are you saying?" Luke was a damn child!

"Let it go, Josh," Lillian said with a small grin. He was a little higher strung than usual.

"I think," Luke began as he made his way to the bathroom. As he passed his brother, he ruffled his hair and Josh swiped at him. Luke got all business-like. "If I'm gonna work there, we can all work there. I mean, what else is there to here? Plus, money is money, no matter where ya make it. Right, Lilly? I think that green apron'll look good on you."

He grinned at Lilly, winking, then turned to the mirror outside the toilet's door and grabbed the hair gel to fix his gel.

"Oh, you think so, do you?" the girl asked with a smirk as she watched him for a moment. Then she pulled her phone out of her pocket to fiddle with it. Truth be told, she wasn't sure Marylin would really like that idea… "You might bring in quite the crowd though, Josh. The two of you working there would be like fresh meat."

Joshua gave her a look that said his brother needed no encouragement.

"And Merlotte's gonna be giving us raises on the second day. Come on. Let's head out." His shag fixed just right, Luke spun to leave. He grabbed his empty wallet. "This thing's gonna be bursting."

"You have to actually make them like you to get money," Joshua told him as he followed Luke out the door.

Lilly just silently laughed as she followed them both.

"Who doesn't like me?" Luke asked.

"You really want the answer to that?" Josh asked as he went to the passenger side of the Impala to get in.

"You're just jealous of my good looks, bro."

Josh just scoffed and shut his door. "I don't know, Luke. Sometimes its the puppy dog that wins," Lilly commented from the back seat.

Luke started the car and looked at her through the rearview, then glanced at Josh. Luke's face fell slightly as he addressed Lillian.

"I'm not a puppy dog? You know I can do puppy dog."

Of course Lilly had to laugh at that. "Yes, I know very well that you can do puppy dog, but Josh tends to always have it, not pull it out as a Trump card every once in awhile."

"Uh-huh," said Luke thoughtfully. "So that's what you dig now." This was muttered.

_Merlotte's_ was close to the Inn—it wouldn't have taken too long if they went by foot, but it had rained, so it was muddy. They arrived in less than three minutes in time for the bar's noon shift.

As the group climbed out of the car, Sam spotted them from inside and lifted a questioning eyebrow. Rather than alert Marylin to their presence, however, he met them at the door instead, and inclined his head briefly in greeting.

"Lilly, Luke, Josh." Not for the first time, Sam was grateful that the boys wore different haircuts. "What can I do for you today?"

Sam was already getting three menus. Luke shook his head, grinning.

"Merlotte, we actually came for the jobs you still got open."

Sam's face fell. "Oh?"

Luke thumbed to Josh and Lilly. "These two would make good waitresses."

"Hey now," Lilly said, taking a step back as she lifted her hands to dispute Luke's statement. "I never said that."

"Come on, Lilly. Don't leave me with just him," Josh asked, pulling out the aforementioned puppydog face.

Marylin, who was passing out an order to a group of elderly men who were having their lunch, overheard. Her eyes went wide. And she spilled on of their cokes in startle. Sam looked back at her, not knowing what to say to her cousins and partner, and Marylin hurriedly to the waitress station to get napkins and a refill. Of course, her group saw her. In the _Merlotte's_ uniform, looking like a regular, innocent civilian. Not at all a hunter.

"Hey, Mar!" Luke called. She disappeared around the corner. "So what do you say, Merlotte? Do we have to interview?"

"Uh, guys, I-heh," Sam started, before clearing his throat and looking back towards the waitress station. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea." The problem was, he did need the help.

Luke looked around. He only saw Sookie—besides Marylin—working.

"You look pretty short-staffed, Merlotte," he said pointedly.

Sookie passed by hurriedly with another order for Lafayette. "You have _no _idea."

"Well..." Sam lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head. "I might be able to use you..."

"Awesome. Good man." Luke gave him a slap on the shoulder that startled him, then started further through the restaurant toward a table. "What do we sign?"

"I'll be right back…with the forms." Leaving them to wait, Sam hurried to the back where Marylin was, stalling with the refill for the old men. Sam had to go to his office for the employee contracts.

"Sam?" she called after him and followed. "Sam, what're they doing?"

"They're uh... well they're going to be helping us out. Hey, you know Lillian's size. Can you grab her a uniform?" The man wisely darted into his office before she could reply.

Frozen with shock, Marylin stood there in the hallway, looking at the ground for a good half minute. Then Sookie jarred her.

"Hey, Marylin, table five wants their refill," she said, grabbing the ready plates from the kitchen window.

"Right. Of course." And because she couldn't fail her job, Marylin started back to the waitress station. After getting the refill and apologizing to the old men, she found the uniform and very reluctantly approached the table her cousins and Lilly were occupying. They were already filling out the forms that Sam got for them.

Marylin dropped the white _Merlotte's_ t-shirt and apron before Lilly without a word to her.

Lilly clenched her teeth and picked up the shirt. "Thanks," she replied, tried to keep the tightness out of her voice.

"Hey, Mar," Luke said. "Guess we're gonna be keeping an eye on you two."

"Us who?" Marylin answered flatly. She was busy trying not to look Lilly in the eye.

"You and Merlotte."

Marylin rolled her eyes.

"It won't be so bad," Josh told Marylin with an encouraging smile. It was possible this could help all of them mend things, but it was equally possible that it could give them all more reasons to kill each other.

"Before we begin our temporary civilian job, can I…get a beer?" Luke asked of her.

"Not on the house, though," Marylin said, to his disappointment. "Unless you want it off your future paycheck." She looked at Josh, glanced at Lilly.

"Does he want us to start today?" Lillian asked her, ignoring Marylin's dodging glances.

"Probably does," Joshua said as he saw Sookie darting from table to table. "Do you know what we're going to be doing?"

"Talk to Sam," Marylin said to the twins. "You two are probably going to be busboys."

And she left. The three of them watched her go.

Joshua and Lilly concentrated on their forms, while Luke, really wanting his beer, flagged down Arlene. "Hey, can I get a beer? Miller's fine."

Arlene rolled her eyes because he reminded her of Jason, who rarely said please and thank you.

"Anything else?" she whined.

"Nope, that's all." And he smiled in his usually charming (what he thought was charming) way, but it didn't work on this woman. She turned on her heel, flame red waves bouncing on her shoulders, and grumbled, _"Thanks for the thank you_."

Ten minutes later, Sam returned to the trio. He had a few minutes to go over their forms and tell them whether they were hired or not. But because of the short amount of staff, he probably _would_ hire them, and then would find himself hoping his decision wasn't a mistake. But Marylin was so far doing a good job, so perhaps her family would be the same.

"So, Lillian," Sam took her form first, went over it with his pen, "you waitressed and bartended before?" Because they were always on the go, work stints didn't last long, and Sam understood this. At least he was given some sort of idea of past experience.

"You know how the tables are set up? How it all works?" he asked the blonde.

"Yeah, I've done both. So, I don't think it'll be too bad," she replied with a nod and a small smile.

Sam nodded, seeing her unease and giving her a warm smile in return.

"Hey," he told her gently. "Things'll work out. Don't you worry. Besides," the man straightened and placed her form on the bar, "the tippers love blondes here."

Luke took a pull from his beer and grinned, saying for reassurance, "And if they grab your ass, I'll be right there, breaking their hand, Lil."

Sam looked at him and decided he would often be getting exasperated with him. "No, you won't. Because that would scare off my customers, and you will probably lose your job. If a customer acts out in any way, you come to me, and I'll deal with 'em."

"Alright, but what if some trucker woops your ass?" Luke inquired entirely seriously, finger raised. "You know the marine roll?"

"What?" Sam started, but unable to help herself, Lillian smiled at Luke's antics.

Grinning, Luke raised his hands to demonstrate before Lilly interrupted. "Ah-hah, you don't. Well, see it's when you grab the dude by the—"

"No one will be getting their asses whooped, but should they I'm pretty sure Sam knows that he's got quite the army around him," she said, shaking her head. "He'll behave, Sam. He's just a puppy dog with more bark then bite." She stepped towards Luke as she spoke, only to wrap one arm around his neck and ruffle his gelled hair before stepping back and heading towards the server station, smiling all the while.

Joshua sighed for at least the 10th time within the last ten minutes. "It won't be bad," he promised Sam.

Sam looked between them, mouth slightly agape, not knowing what exactly to say. But because he was such a nice guy, he'd give him the benefit of the doubt. He let out his own sigh, said, "Okay," and picked up both the twins' forms.

Joshua's was good. Some bartending. Some car work that was needed for some extra bucks. Luke's, on the other hand, was mostly empty in the previous job section. Two things were written—Catching Bad Guys, and Expert People Person. In nonchalant handwriting.

Sam restrained most of what he wanted to say and show on his face. "There's gonna be no drinkin' on the job, Luke. You know that right?"

Luke let his glass go. "So we're hired?"

Knowing he would probably regret it, Sam nodded. "Yeah, you're hired, but on a temporary basis!" he said quickly, seeing the way Luke immediately lit up. "Don't get too many ideas about this."

Joshua ignored his brother, still peeved from the money incident and looked at Merlotte instead. "Where would you like us to start?"

"Well," Sam began as the three of them stood. "I guess I'm gonna make you two busboys. Your jobs are to clear the tables. Bring 'em back to the sinks. Wipe the tables down before new customers sit down, put down the silverware, sometimes you can refill their waters when the waitresses are busy. Sound easy enough?"

Luke still had the grin on his face. "Yep. Doesn't sound so bad."

"If you're not sure about somethin', you can always ask Arlene or Sookie. Or Marylin now that she has the hang of things."

"No aprons?" Luke glanced at his brother. "Josh was sayin' something about the aprons."

"No, no aprons. Just the _Merlotte's_ t-shirts for you. And there's some plastic bins in back. Go ahead and grab those to put the dishes in," Sam instructed, watching as Joshua grabbed his brother to turn him and head back to the kitchen before he could ask another stupid question.

* * *

At the station, Lillian grabbed a couple of pens from a jar and stuck them in one of her aprons pockets, before reaching for an order pad as well. A woman hustled past her to the fountain drink dispenser, and the way she moved was not missed by Lilly.

"Mar... I wasn't planning on working here," she started.

Marylin was hurriedly filling up four iced teas for some elderly gentlemen in the seventh booth. She looked at her old friend from the corner of her eye, her bottom lip almost looking sucked in.

"Then why are you here?" she asked casually. "I thought you'd still be in New Orleans partying with Luke."

"Well," Lilly began as she picked up a menu on which was scrawled the days specials. "We're here because Luke got all of the Twins' money stolen, and somehow I was drafted into helping replenish it. What is a Moss Burger?"

"It's got sprouts on it," Marylin answered shortly. She almost answered with a drawl in fact, as if Bon Temps had steadily begun to suffuse into her. She'd been here so long already. After filling one plastic glass, she put another under the faucet of the iced tea dispenser. Then she turned to Lilly fully, realizing what she had told her.

"He lost your money?" The shock diminished some of the hostility. "How?"

"He got his pocket slipped by a busty waitress in New Orleans. Served him right, but that's Luke." Smiling slightly, Lilly looked up at her friend. "Not that he'll learn from it."

Marylin looked around the drink station to the kitchen, where she saw the twins, in fact, being showed by Lafayette where exactly the dish bins were. Lafayette gave them nice once-overs as they made their way back to the dining room.

"God, sometimes I wonder where his genes came from!" Marylin said. Luke saw her and made to give her a bear hug. His arms crushed her, she groaned. He had a dark green _Merlotte's_ shirt that hung on his shoulder. Josh held his own in his hand.

Luke went on joking, holding one of her shoulders. "We leave you for a couple days, Mar, and when we come back you're playing all civilian. You're not going to try and settle down with Merlotte next, are you?"

Marylin rolled her eyes and nudged him away in a manner that was more annoyed than usual. "Why would I be trying to settle down? I should be asking if you're going to be losing the Impala next."

"Hey, I would never!" he swore.

"Let's just go get changed, Luke. We're on the clock now," Josh told him before stepping forward to give Marylin a much more gentle hug. "Hey, Cuz. It's good to see you," he told her with a smile, before turning and heading towards the men's room.

As Marylin was finishing the drinks, and Lilly studied the menu, Arlene came over with an unhappy, stressed face.

"Marylin, your table wants their iced tea."

"I'm coming," Marylin said coolly enough. She dropped a lemon wedge in each glass and picking up the tray.

The redhead then turned to Lilly. Arlene looked like she was on the edge of emotion, either going to cry or to scream. Her voice cracked slightly, but she spoke in a surprisingly thankful voice.

"Even with your partner here, it's been hectic. So…so I'm glad you're here. You're gonna have to split sides with her just for today. I don't want to figure out tables just as the dinner rush is gonna start. Sookie ain't here, 'cause she's busy with her weddin' n all," Arlene said this with a twisted face. "So it's gonna be just the three of us. Then this other new girl Jessica is gonna join us. But she's just gonna host. Thank God." Arlene leaned closer to Lilly, whispering. "'Cause she's one of them vampires."

Lillian raised an eyebrow at Arlene's words. She'd been fully prepared to smile and be pleasant with the woman, but her last words had been enough to give her pause.

"Which of course is a problem for you?"

The frank question caught the older woman slightly off guard. For a second, she thought Lillian was behind on the times. "Well," Arlene stumbled. "You seen what they can do, righ'? What they'd been doin' since they came out an' all… "

"And what have they been doing since they came out?" Lilly prompted, her eyes never leaving Arlene's steadily widening ones. "If she is a vampire, and she's working here... I don't see her doing anything different from what you're doing. Trying to make a living, that is."

Unfortunately, Arlene was too narrow-minded in her ways to see reason.

"Well, I—well I'm still gonna watch out for myself. One thing I know for sure is that the slight drop of blood can set 'em off, even if they claim to be as innocent as they look. I got kids to feed. If somethin' happens to their mama, they'll be orphans, and then I'll never be able to forgive maself."

On that note, her voice had escalated, and she turned on her heel with the orders in her hand for Lafayette. Arlene had failed to realize the contradiction of what she said, but there was no point in arguing with her. Lillian just watched her go with a shake of her head and a small sigh. It was people like that that simply filled the rest of the world with fear. Hopefully with time, Arlene would learn. But maybe…she wouldn't.

* * *

Lillian had her first few customers, did well with them. The town always liked new waitresses because they had secret bets of who would leave sooner—either because Sam would fire them, or one of them would die, since that was pattern of bad luck for the past half year (roughly around the time Sookie met Bill). Yet, Sam tried his best to keep the negative talk from spreading. On his watch, he vowed that nothing more would happen to any of them. Plus, no one knew that the few employees were hunters. The assortment of folk that passed through _Merlotte's_ silently amazed him. His place became a beacon without him meaning it to be.

As the dinner rush started with the setting sun, Luke and Joshua managed to not break anything, nor get any scolding from any of the veteran employees. But Luke had to slip one flirt or two with the local ladies. A hunter like him looked good in uniform, he thought to himself. And Joshua too! But he was bashful as always, and he was working and had to pull his brother away when Luke stalled too long with some girl. It was Luke's way of making the job fun—yet Josh noticed a few times when Sam would shoot a glance their way from the back of the bar.

Marylin stepped up to the counter with an order of beer and two margaritas that she gave to Tara. Marylin looked at her cousins across the restaurant. The music and typical evening vibe of the crowd masked their newby status well enough, but Marylin worried regardless. She was waiting for a slip up.

To Sam, she said in a low voice, "If they screw up somehow, I'll handle it."

"It's okay," he replied with a small, resigned smile. "They're actually not doing as bad as I thought they might be." Sam looked her over and stepped closer. "Just... try and enjoy it a little. You look upset."

"I'm not upset," she said. But as she tensely took off her hair tie to let her hair down, Sam knew her answer was a lie. He put a slight hand on her hip. She looked at him and said, "I just didn't expect things to go this way. And I don't want to cause trouble for your establishment with my…family matters."

"They're good kids," Sam reiterated. "I'm not worried." At least not completely. Maybe concerned was a better word. He was more concerned with what might happened, but not all together worried. "Don't let it get to you, okay?" he asked as his hand gently rubbed her hip in small circles.

Marylin regarded the warmth in his gaze and it made her smile. He was always able to relax her. That's one of the things she liked about him. And just as they were about to lean towards each other for a quick kiss, without realizing where they were, even though the bar wasn't dead center of the place, Tara cleared her throat right beside them. She had Marylin's order.

"Don't make me tell you two to get a room, like what Sam says to me when Eggs stops by an' I'm workin'. I don't care if you're the boss, and she's your waitress, and it's just a thing you like to do—date your waitresses." Despite the fact that the two became an item _before _Sam hired the hunter.

Marylin immediately stepped away from Sam to take the drinks. "Thanks, Tara."

"Mm-hm," said the bartender, hand on her hip, a raised eyebrow at Sam.

Sam cleared his throat and looked at Tara only briefly. "What?" he asked her, before quickly taking a folder he had beside him and heading back to his office.

* * *

Josh grabbed an empty plate and dumped the food into the side of the bin before stacking it with the others in the center and arranging the glasses around it so he'd be able to fit more.

"Luke, don't just toss the silverware in with the rest. It's easier if you just take the extra second to put it in the side slot." He'd told his brother that at least twice that night, but still his brother didn't seem to be getting it, or at least he didn't seem to be paying too much attention.

"It all gets washed either way, right?" Luke said. But he didn't break anything. He wasn't a klutz. Nor was he Jason Stackhouse, even though the two had never met.

The twins were clearing out side-by-side tables that had been vacated simultaneously, and Arlene had swiped the tips as fast as she could before either of them took them—not that they would. During the past several hours, they had quickly come to realize what a paranoid woman she was, and also that she was pregnant. Later, Luke divulged to his brother that it was Terry's, one of the equally on edge cooks. Such gossip simply made time pass faster. Josh obviously thought otherwise.

The door chimed and the foursome turned to see Bobby, who had been gone that entire day to Shreveport, where an old hunter lived conveniently. Bobby learned how hard it was to live with a popular Vampire bar in town, and that the south had a particularly large, recent wave of new born vamps. Now Bobby was back to have some dinner and have his shock fed by the fact that all his kids were working civilian jobs.

Lilly got to him first, stood before him in her white shirt, apron.

"You too, Lillian?" he exclaimed.

"Me too," the blonde replied with a sighing smile. "I got roped into it too." In all honesty, she didn't mind. This way she'd be free to spend her nights with someone else that tended to dislike sunlight. "Beer?" she offered.

"Sure." Bobby looked at the menu, his mouth pressed in an exasperated line. "I just hope those two identical idgets don't dragg ya into anything else." Joshua wasn't an idget. It was Luke. But Bobby often times included Joshua because they were considered one entity.

"I think I can handle them." She had been her entire life, after all. "I'll go get your beer and be right back to get the rest of your order. Special tonight is a Moss Burger. It's got a nice texture with some sprouts and fried onion straws lathered with a touch of southwestern sauce."

Leaving him to decide, the blonde went to go get his beer.

Watching her, Bobby smirked and chuckled. "Oh, kids," he said.

Meanwhile, the door chimed again. More customers—a couple from Monroe, off-duty Bud Dearborne with his wife. The old man was contemplating retirement. And behind them was a young, tall redhead who wasn't a customer but the hostess. She was late and people noticed because she all but ran to the waitress station. The twins stopped what they were doing for a spell and watched her. She hurriedly put on her apron and gathered her long straight hair up.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm late. It won't happen agen," Jessica said to Arlene and Marylin. But Arlene just ignored her. "Sookie had me try on my bridesmaid dress, an' then she wanted me help her with somethin' else—and then somethin' else…" she complained.

Marylin gave her a small smile. "It's okay. Sam's in his office."

Now, Marylin _was_ rather prejudice towards vampires, but Jessica acted so much like a normal, antsy, awkward human girl, she passed for a human—and Marylin wasn't sure Jessica even knew how to drain someone. So…she ended up deeming her harmless days ago.

As Jessica turned to her, she smiled in return and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good, because I've never been late before."

"So I'm sure you're fine," the hunter answered, filled up some Cokes and a Fanta.

Jessica nodded curtly, grabbed some extra menus, and took a step, but didn't leave before lastly saying, "Sook's bridal shower is a couple days. You're still goin' right? She wants you and Lilly to be there. It's at her house. Then…we're going to have a small dinner for the rest of us—so like me and Pam from Fantasia can come. But I think…yer gonna have to talk to Sookie 'bout that half of the day."

"I'll be there," Marylin assured as neutrally as she could, but she had yet to tell Lilly, and wasn't so sure about the dinner for vamps.

Across the dining room, the boys were watching.

"Dude..." Joshua breathed. He sounded more like his brother in that moment as he watched the redhead trot on by. Neither boy had seen her there before.

Lillian stepped between them to get to one of her tables on the other side and said with a smirk, "'Scuse me, boys."

Luke, on the other hand, didn't whistle in praise for the redhead. He just watched, half curious, half suspicious because something…something was off with the girl. It wasn't that she was tall, or quirky in the way she put her hands behind her back and bounced off to seat customers. It was the way she was pale, and other details—like the red rims under her eyes.

"I can tell one when I see one," he said, for once the joke out of his voice.

But for once, Joshua seemed off his game. "See what?" he asked.

All he saw was the bright red hair, natural and beautiful unlike Arlene's scary hair. There was an innocence about the young girl. It had to be the way she looked down shyly when talking to people and looked up through her lashes. Dear God, how did he not see her before?

Luke elbowed his brother to jar him out of his stupor, full tray in hands, before passing him and saying, "Dude, she's a vamp. Don't you see it?"

"W-what? Hey—" Joshua grabbed his bin of dishes and followed after his brother, while stealing glances back at the redhead. "Well... yeah, okay, but did you see her? Geez..." He smiled, unable to help it and followed his brother into the back sinks so they could unload.

Luke completely dismissed Joshua's awe. "Yeah, okay. If you're into that type of thing, which you're not." He put the dishes into the soaking sink, for once concentrating on his work. It was like roles were reversed for the two of them that night. A case of the body switchers someone observing them would say

"Vamp babes can be hot, too, but that doesn't mean we should go after them."

Joshua wasn't one to jump into first attractions—it was his brother who did that, then leave so fast in the morning, the girl of the night wouldn't have time to throw a pan at him.

Joshua didn't hear a word his brother was saying and absently said, "I think I might say hi…"

"Yeah, and maybe later we can have a threesome." Luke turned to him with a face that was far from joking, dead serious, in fact. "And we can take turns getting nibbles from her. You like that?"

He raised a finger to creep up his brother's neck, poorly imitating fangs.

Joshua jumped away and punched him in the shoulder. "That's not what I meant, Luke."

Luke laughed despite the minor ache he rubbed. "Hey I thought you liked freaky things."

But before his brother could throw another punch, a sultry male voice purred behind them. "_Someone say freaky_?"

Joshua shut his mouth and turned to see the cook standing in the doorway, propped up on one arm on the wall, smiling at them. "You's two say freaky, and poof, I appear," he told them with a small chuckle.

"Uh, no. We were just heading back out for another round," Joshua told him.

As he made to leave, Luke fumbled to get his tray empty, unloading the last dirty dishes.

Lafayette remained in the doorway, his smile widening because he liked to tease straight boys. "Tryin' to impress the boss in the first day? Trust me, boys, yo cousin is distractin' him and has been for the past couple days, and Sam's been missin' all sorts of thangs. Includin' you and that handsome face of yours, and you and _yo_ cuteness," he said to Joshua.

"Hey, man sorry, I don't bat for your side," Luke said as apologetically as he could. "Josh, on the other hand, sometimes he—"

"He's an idiot. You're better off ignoring whatever comes out of his mouth!" Joshua said quickly. He looked decidedly bashful and uncomfortable. Luke wasn't helping. He was only making things worse for them. "Have you seen Arlene? I'm supposed to clear a table for her."

Lafayette crossed his arms. "Yeah, she's there, ready for ya." But before he could leave with his brother in tow, the flamboyant black man whispered to Joshua, "Her name's Jess'ca."

"What?" Joshua looked at the cook in shock. He'd heard? "Who is?" he asked, trying to play dumb, but even for a hunter, it was too late to try and hide his earlier amazement with the hostess.

Lafayette just said, "Mm-hm," and sauntered back to the kitchen, as Luke passed his brother.

Joshua only took a moment to look between where Lafayette and his brother had gone before leaving after the latter. Luke was right. He needed to get his head out of the clouds.

* * *

As Lillian put up another order for Terry, she felt a sudden vibration in her apron—her phone. Although taking calls or texts was an obvious no during a job, she stepped aside anyway, to at least check who the caller was. She had inkling in her stomach.

And then she saw that the texter was unmistakable.

_Now why did I see you with an apron on?_

_I'm outside. _

_E._

Lillian looked down at the text and smirked ever-so-slightly. She should have known he'd find out about this, but in all honesty she hadn't really thought much of the fact.

"Hey, Arlene, I need a breath of air, so I'm going to take my five. Can you give me a yell if they need anything?" she asked the frazzled redhead, knowing she probably wouldn't be too happy about it. But not giving her a chance to say no, Lilly re-pocketing her cell phone and heading out the back door.

She couldn't see her mysterious texter, but had no doubt he was there. "I thought it might suit me," she joked, twirling around once like she was modeling it.

Eric wasn't planning to startle her like he did most people. He didn't appear behind her, nor at the edge of her peripheral vision. But his step was light as was with all vampires, and when he stepped out of the shadows around a customer's big truck, her heart seized just a tad. Perhaps it was because she hadn't seen him since New Orleans. Each time they met, the air cooled around them, there was something about the air in which Eric walked. It tingled with electricity. It gave Lilly goosebumps. He was so tall, so glowing despite wearing all black. He was more than sheriff of area nine to her. She marveled at this fact each time.

"It does," he agreed lightly, a smirk at his mouth. He seemed to float about the ground as he approached her. "But I would prefer to see you in the uniform I give _my_ waitresses. And there are no aprons."

"There's not much of anything," she replied with a smile she didn't bother hiding. He chuckled. Rather than go to him, she waited for him to come to her and when he did, the blonde looked up at him and her smile turned sly. "I meant to get off sooner so that I could come see you. You sure Pam won't be cranky about you being gone?"

"Pam is always cranky," Eric only with a minor note of exasperation. He loved his progeny, even with all her ways. "But she's long gotten used to me seeing you. Though this time, I am also here on business. And you came first."

With that, he grinned, and Lillian didn't mind him taking her by the waist and apron, pulling her forward, and catching her lips in a sweet, smooth, "I missed you" kiss. It had her skin tingling as always, and he was sure to hear her heart fluttering. His smile grew wider when they parted as he felt her small gasp for breath on his lips.

"I think I can handle that," she automatically whispered, her hands on his chest. Though it was obvious she was happy to see him, she showed it by returning the kiss, her fingertips scratching his chest through his shirt. "I should probably let you get to your business, hm?"

Eric sighed reluctantly, not wanting to leave.

"Bill Compton has asked me to marry him and Sookie off," he said, making Lilly's eyes widen. "I have a license that is valid only among us vampires, but...since Bill is a friend, and I am his Sheriff…I agreed to do it for the ceremony. Then they're flying off to Vermont to make it official, even though it would only be official there."

He said this as if he didn't understand why and how they felt the way they felt. But he did. Yet if _Eric _ever decided to marry—actually the question is if he wanted to spend the rest of his life with someone (perhaps Lilly…), the government law was meaningless to him, especially since it was run by humans.

The vampire patted the left side of his jacket. "I'm bringing them the papers they have to sign."

"I wasn't sure you had it in you to do that," she teased. But she was pleased with his efforts, even if her curiosity was starting to itch. Eric did very little if it didn't affect him in some way.

"Unfortunately though Sookie isn't working tonight. She took the night off to work on the wedding details. To say she's distracted lately would be putting it mildly."

Before, Lillian could say anymore, Joshua stuck his head out the door and spotted her.

"Lilly, some of your—whoa—"

The young man who came outside swallowed his words when he saw the girl wrapped up quite neatly against the vampire's chest. Eric didn't let go of Lillian immediately, but he did slowly slacken his embrace as they turned to face Joshua. Her boyfriend fixed a small glare on the young man simply because he had walked in on a private moment. Eric hadn't met the smarter twin yet—smarter because that's what the sheriff gathered from what Lilly had told him, and there certainly couldn't have been two Lukes!

The vampire smirked at the expression on his face.

"Josh," Lilly named as she took a small step back from Eric, though she still remained quite entrenched in his personal space. "This is Eric," she said as she gestured to the man beside her.

Though Joshua was certainly the more gentle of the brothers that didn't mean he would take it easy on him. The bar and pressing tables were immediately forgotten as he stepped fully outside and let the screen door shut with a loud FWAP.

"Eric..." he started, looking the vampire over. "So you're the guy that's stolen Lillian away from us?" His words were more measuring and speculative than threatening or condemning. The young man stopped a few feet away from the couple and regarded him. They were almost the same height and as far as Lillian could tell, Joshua was not intimidated.

"Excuse me?" Eric inquired darkly. "Is that what's been going around the hunter community now?" He did not look at Lillian as he said this.

"More or less," Joshua replied. "So I'm guessing you're treating her right?"

"Josh, please don't do this right now," Lilly pleaded not, liking where this was going.

"It's my right, Lil. You think you're good enough for her?" The young man raised an eyebrow, testing the waters.

Eric thought himself more than just "good enough" for her, but the caution and smug evened across his flawless white face and he nodded neutrally enough. "I do. And of course I am treating her right. It would be no other way. Do you, Joshua, share the same prejudices as some of the others in your little family?"

Joshua regarded them both and couldn't help thinking about the little red inside the restaurant. _Did_ he have the same prejudice? "I like to keep my options open..." He knew Lillian and he trusted her judgment, but he still hadn't given Erik the OK.

"You know you don't, Josh. You've always understood how I feel and think a little differently from the others," Lillian encouraged.

"Does he?"

It wasn't a rhetorical question from the sheriff. He was aware of each and every fidget and pulse beat of the boy's and waited for him to profess what side he stood on. That really was it. Sides mattered even though there was no current war. The times required it.

Josh regarded him in return, considering. He was a vampire. And he looked like a serious one, too. But his body language—the way he held Lilly, the way he appeared protective over her, smitten with her, attached... Unable to be without her. After a moment, it had Joshua looking at Lillian, seeing the hope on her face, and breaking into a smile. He shook his head with a small chuckle.

"Just treat her right. That's all I care about. Josh Winchester," he said as he offered the man his hand. Lillian's face lit up.

Eric hesitated for a moment before extending his own cold hand. It was slightly startling because Joshua never civilly shook hands with a vampire before (his grip was strong, hand just as large, and almost as cold as ice). The act had surprised the vampire as well. Somberly, he replied with:

"Eric Northman, sheriff of this area." Then he paused, but briefly as he let go of the boy's hand. "I promise that with me, Lillian will always be safe. And with the power I have, should she be threatened in any way, I will protect her."

Because he was saying this from a part of his being that, before he met Lillian, he kept secure with an iron bolt, Eric hadn't look at the blonde once while he spoke. But she watched the side of his face and saw his completely solemn honesty.

"That's, uh...that's all I ask," Josh replied with a nod and fought the urge to open and close his fingers. Between the cold and the strength, he believed Eric meant what he said.

"So I guess this little damsel better get back to work, hm? If you two are done sizing each other up I mean," the blonde cut in. After all, she did have tables waiting on her.

Letting out a sigh, Eric let his girlfriend go altogether, but before stepping away, he said, "You didn't tell me why exactly you're working here all of a sudden." His eyes flicked to Joshua briefly. Since he was in a uniform too, Eric figured he had something to do with it.

"We need the money," she replied honestly with a shrug.

Joshua shook his head in annoyance. "My brother lost it in New Orleans, so we have to get it back."

"Sam needed the help, so he hired us." It didn't look like it bothered Lilly all that much and, in fact, it didn't. It was kind of nice doing honest work.

Eric briefly remembered the waitress in New Orleans he had paid off but he didn't ask the details of how exactly Luke lost the money. The last thing the sheriff wanted was Lillian finding out what he had done just so that he could steal her away (yes, he did realize he in fact had stolen her). But it was a selfish streak that would never vanish from his personality. What he wanted, he couldn't live without.

So he smiled at his girlfriend and said gently, "You know you can always come to me, Lillian." But before Lillian could answer, the door to _Merlotte's_ opened behind Joshua and a female voice sent goosebumps up the young man's back.

"Lilly—um, Arlene wants ya. She kinda looks like she's fixin' to yell at ya for takin' too long. Uh—" Jessica saw the sheriff second because he could never be missed by the eye. Just after being turned, she had stayed with him for the first few days. So she forced a smile and waved a little. Eric, however, did not return it, so her smile vanished at once.

Joshua quickly turned around to look at her and smiled slightly, an almost bashful look on his face, but Lilly was the one to speak: "That woman really needs to learn how to breathe."

The blonde turned back to Eric and gave him one more smile. "I'll be off soon." She then quickly hurried inside.

As the young ones lingered outside for a few beats, Eric flew off into the night with an unexpected whoosh. Josh jumped slightly, and noticing, Jessica said with awe-struck smile:

"I wonder how long it takes to master that!"

But out of sudden shyness, she then turned to open the door to go back inside too.

"My guess is awhile," Josh answered quickly.

As he followed her into _Merlotte's_, she laughed a quiet, coy laugh and said, "Yeah. Me too." The hostess station was right by the door of course, and she reached to fix the plastic menu pocket. Josh lingered by her.

"I'm Josh," he told her with a small, nervous smile. "I mean, one of the new guys, a busboy...named Josh."

She wasn't looking at him, her hand paused on the top of the menus, but she smiled wide and then slowly met his eyes. She was intrigued. He was tall, very tall. And not at all lanky. Not sleazy either—like most of the men there.

"Marylin an' Lilly's cousin?" she said.

"Yeah," he replied as his smile broke a little wider. But he was only _Marylin's_ cousin and didn't realize what he said. "And you're Jessica?" he offered, remembering the name the cook had slipped him.

Jessica gave a little nod and glanced back at the menus. She fixed them again even though they didn't need to be. "I'm new here too—well, not as new as you. I've been here a couple-a days. Wanted to be a waitress actually…but they told me I gotta start here first."

Behind Joshua, a couple entered, and the girl had to take her cue. Stepping out of the way, the hunter let them pass and watch the vampire all the while. But he saw no vampire. He just saw a fair, delicate little beauty that was entirely unlike the rest of the dead he used to hunt.

"Two? Right this way!"

And Jessica led the couple to a table that was free, gave them their menus, told them to enjoy their meal, and only then glanced back at the human boy from under her long lashes. Her eyes were as blue as the coast of North Carolina, right near Ocracoke where Joshua's little family went a few times. But maybe…maybe her eyes were just as blue as delphiniums. Or as the sky often times got during clear summers. The bluest blue Josh ever thought there was… Brilliant, clear orbs.

"DUDE!"

But he was jarred, no, rudely startled, by a shove in his gut. Luke handed him his bin and looked at his brother like he'd hit his head and gone crazy. "What's wrong with you? And you told _me_ to pay attention to the job. Who's gonna be getting more tips now!"

Josh mouthed a silent _ouch_ as he rubbed his gut and caught his busboy bin with his other hand.

"What was that for?" he demanded. He followed him away from the hostess station. "I was just talking to her," he explained as he sat the bin down and started clearing a recently vacated table. They left a mess, a group of overweight hicks.

"What about getting our money back, huh?" Luke reminded with a hiss a table over. Then he raised a finger, "No waitresses for _you_, buddy boy!" and snorted.

But his brother just gave a snort. "That's gotta be the first time you've ever told me that. Usually you're throwing me at them."

"I know, I know," Luke answered with a wave of his hand. And turned as serious as he could get (the corners of his mouth were still turned upwards in a smirk). "But I've realized, bro, that we gotta….as much as it pains me to say this, we gotta be celibate until we get our money back, otherwise we're gonna be working here a month."

"Now if you don't stop talkin', you boys _will_ be workin' a month," said a voice a table behind them. "And that's a month off huntin'."

It was Bobby. He was finished with his dinner and sitting reclined in his chair with his hands on his belly. For once his baseball cap was off too, because it was warm even inside the diner. His forehead was shiny with sweat. He gave a simple shrug to the boys, but his eyes were widened because he knew he was right. They looked at him like scolded little boys.

"Before your boss gets here and shuts you up himself. Not good on the first day, now. It's that guy over there, right? Talkin' to Marylin?"

Luke lifted his head. "Yeah, Bobby, that's the dude. I think if he was paying attention, he would've yelled at us a while ago." Their boss was just waiting for a crash of some sort, but because he hadn't heard it yet, he deemed everything just fine.

Bobby had yet to meet Sam Merlotte, but was watching the bar where Sam had resumed position, and Marylin was talking to him while getting more drink orders. No more attempted kisses, but they were smiling more than usual, like a couple would. The old man narrowed his eyes, studied the shifter. But he didn't know that bit about him, which was probably a good thing. Judging from the warmth of the smile on Sam's face, the man was a nice guy. Little rugged. Little simple—like the rest of the folk here. Dressed in plaid shirt tugged into his jeans with a big buckle. Cowboy boots, too, of course. He was…he was as civilian as they came.

So Bobby couldn't help his sigh. Marylin had to be going through something in her head—if _first_ she just prolonged her stay here, second she starting seeing this man, and third she got a job (the order could've been switched, but it didn't matter). It just wasn't done in the lives of hunters! Hell, all of them had to be going through something. The food made Bobby feel better, of course, but he was worried. And he definitely couldn't leave the kids now. The twins, who seldom stayed in one town, who were always on the road (more so than Scott, and Marylin, and Lillian because she was always with Marylin). At some point in the past couple years, Bobby decided that the Twins were more efficient, disciplined hunters than anyone else of their generation. All the boys had known was hunting. And while they loved their family, all Joshua and Luke needed was each other to keep motivated. They hunted and hunted and never broke down. Now they were here, too.

Lillian came over with his check. He broke from his thinking, but looked at her with a decision. "Lilly, I think I'm gonna call a group meeting tomorrow. Tell Marylin. You girls off tomorrow?"

"We can be for at least a little while," the blonde replied with a nod as she placed the check on the table and picked up his empty plate with newly freed hands. "You want it back at the hotel?"

"Yeah. My room. Noon." Bobby left no room for any excuses. He didn't seem happy either. "I wanna talk to you guys about your plans. Right now you're trying to get back the boys' money, fine. That'll take a week, week and a half tops. Then we needa think about headin' home, and calling Scott up and meeting with him there. Marylin told me a demon showed up several days ago. Even though she and Joshua got rid of it, I don't think we should be doing any relaxin'. We're always on the job—don't you forget that. Even if we don't wanna be."

Taken slightly aback and with a churning feeling in her stomach, Lillian nodded. "I'll tell them. We'll be there."

Bobby had no idea what was going on. He didn't know about Scott, which would crush him, and he sure didn't know about Eric, who he had come very close to meeting that night simply because of the visit her boyfriend had made!

"I'll let them know," she said again before leaving the table to head back to the waitress station.

Marylin was near her, and noticing her friend's expression had her pausing. Between speaking with Sam and Tara (who threw in her two cents whenever she thought she needed to criticize something), Marylin had seen Lilly speaking with Bobby, and he hadn't looked happy. So hesitantly, with an order of cocktails on her tray, the brunette approached the blonde and stopped behind her.

"What did Bobby say?" she asked cautiously.

Slowly, Lillian turned around to face her and grimaced. "Bobby wants all of us to meet in his room tomorrow at noon. I... don't think it's to tell us how good we've been doing."

Arlene bustled past them with a full tray and grumbled under her breath. Not wanting to get further in the stressed woman's bad graces, she picked up the Sprite and Root Beer that she'd just refilled and started walking with Marylin towards the tables.

Sam had heard the last part of what Lilly said and watched the older man called Bobby leave his establishment. Merlotte didn't have to speak to him to get his vibe. _This_ man was a hunter. Not that Lilly, Marylin, and the Twins weren't, but Sam had come across hunters before the Great Revelation happened. The old generations had been part of the opposition (it had affected their jobs, after all; they were furious), which meant they were stuck in their old ways, were adamant about their biases. Which meant Sam had to stay the hell away from him. Somehow.

* * *

**This chapter is different-we've written out an entire day at Merlotte's, but so the group could finally be together without anyone forcing them. We were able to show you the Twins. The bridal shower is up next. Then the dinner. And more, but we won't give it away. But we will tell you that Joshua will certainly be able to spend more time with Jessica and get to know her. **

**-Why is she not with Hoyt? Because they broke up for the same reason as they did in the show. And perhaps it'll be easier with a hunter... I think we've certainly proved that with Lilly and Marylin. **

**-Will Sam be able to avoid Bobby? **

**-And Lillian will eventually be forced to tell Marylin of what Sookie and Bill helped figure out about herself.  
**


	23. I Heard it through the Grapevine

Ooh, I bet you're wondering how I knew  
About you're plans to make me blue  
With some other guy that you knew before.  
Between the two of us guys  
You know I love you more.  
It took me by surprise I must say,  
When I found out yesterday.  
Don't you know that...

I heard it through the grapevine  
Not much longer would you be mine.  
Oh I heard it through the grapevine,  
Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind.  
Honey, honey yeah.

~ Marvin Gaye (CCR cover)

...

At noon like Bobby had said, they were knocking at his door and instead of rising from his chair, he said, "Come in!" He was watching an episode of CSI but quickly turned it off so he wouldn't get any comments (the old man liked his television when he wasn't hunting) and regarded his kids as they came in. First walked Lilly, then the Twins, and Marylin—it seemed she was running late.

"No beer and pizza?" Luke asked as he looked around the motel room.

"Do you think I invited you to play poker?" Bobby questioned, not in the mood for the boy's usual clowning.

The grin on Luke's face died a bit. "We don't have to be playing poker to have beer and pizza."

"No, but this certainly ain't the time to even think about it." And Bobby didn't have to say anything else. The stern tone in his rough voice was able to straighten Luke out instantly. He quieted and turned as passive as his un-smiling brother, his shoulders slouching. Only Bobby could do that. And they knew he wasn't going to be praising them.

"Now where's Mar?"

"She'll be here, Bobby," Joshua told the old man gently. He stood beside his brother and wordlessly reached into his bag for a bottle of coke, which he passed to his brother to help ease Bobby's sting. He knew how much Luke looked up to their cantankerous leader.

Lillian, on the other hand, remained silent as she took one of the chairs across from the old man.

The old man watched them settle—the twins sat on the bed—and then he leaned back in his seat. "We'll start without her then. First thing's first—I want Scott's other phone number. He ain't answering his usual, and it's starting to make me worry 'bout him. He could be in trouble."

Only Lilly knew where Scott was and what he was truly doing—the Twins had nothing to say.

"I just talked him the other day, Bobby," she told him with a small, nonchalant shrug. "He told me he's on a hunt and might not be in touch for a few days."

Bobby narrowed his eyes as he regarded her across the table, but he didn't call out her lie because it passed with him. But something—something about three remained fishy. It was just a feeling the hunter got.

"What's he huntin'?" he asked.

"Werewolf, out in West Virginia," Lilly replied, looking directly at him. Her face was completely blank. She'd been trained since birth to be able to hide her emotions and now she was going to use it against one of her greatest mentors.

Bobby repeated her answer monotonously: "Werewolf." She nodded. Then he shook his head with disbelief. "By himself? Those mongrels travel in packs."

The Twins were hearing this for the first time.

"Why didn't he call us?" asked Luke, just as shocked. "Me and Josh could've met up with him."

"Seriously," Joshua agreed, leaning forward and ready to spring to his feet, but Lilly raised a hand.

"He's not by himself, he told me he met up with another hunter," she reassured. Again, it was technically another truth. "Bobby, why did you call us all here?" The blonde was more defensive than usual, but all she wanted to do was change the subject.

Joshua looked back at his brother, but let it go, though the worry was evident on his face. Luke took a large swig of Coke that had him burping with knitted brows.

Bobby, on the other hand, didn't let it go so easily. He shifted in his chair, lips pursed, graying eyebrows set, and mulled over the answer that displeased him. There was just something the kids weren't telling him. And it wasn't the same as when they were all just separated—how it was a couple months ago. They weren't together then, but they had called to check in every once in a while, and when he called, they picked up their phones to fill him in on what they were doing and how they were. They always did. Since Bon Temps, it all changed. The man felt out of the loop now, and they weren't being as earnest with him as they used to be. There was something in their gazes. Like they disconnected with him. Like they wanted to hide.

He began with a disappointed inflection. "I called you here because I wanted to say how…_shocked_ I am at what's been going on. I thought when I'd get here, we'd all meet up, wrap up what needed to be wrapped up here—even though I thought, Lilly, you and Mar already did after the Maenad—and we'd get out of here, back on the road. But then I find out Luke suddenly decided to take you to New Orleans for Mardi Gras?"

Luke opened his mouth but didn't get very far. "Just for a couple of days to relax—"

"Without Marylin and your brother?" Bobby said.

Luke shrugged. "They didn't want to go."

"So you leave 'em and still go."

Luke raised his hands, his voice escalating, but not on purpose. "Hey, I can't help it when those two are prudes!"

And it did not lay well with Bobby. "What have I been telling you since all of you decided take the same path as your mamas and daddies—you're always gonna be on the job! There ain't ever any time to take weekends and just drop it all and forget about your responsibilities. Something can happen any time, anywhere, and you gotta have constant vigilance." That was it—the man was on a lecturing tirade. He didn't let any of the three interrupt him. "What if, while you two were goofin' around and partyin', something happened to Marylin and Joshua, and you're six hours away. Or you were drunk and not answerin' your phones. What then? You guys ain't 17 no more so I can just scold ya and take away your car keys, y'all are grown up hunters now."

Guilt was on all three faces. They knew they were screwing up but had gotten so wrapped up in their own individual dramas that they hadn't realized it. Their safety had been jeopardized and breached, but rather then face it like the hunters they were, they'd acted like children.

Lilly broke the momentary silence that had prevailed once Bobby stopped speaking.

"You're right. Bobby, we haven't been thinking clearly, but... it's because we've been dealing with internal issues. It's like when we all split off a few years ago," she explained, a hint of sadness showing on her face as she regarded Bobby, who was the closest person to a father that she had—that all of them had. "We're still trying to heal from the wounds we've inflicted on each other."

Joshua watched her speak and sighed. She was right. There was a part of him that just wanted to get his brother and go, but that was out of the question.

Bobby's anger died a little and he slowly nodded. He sighed heavily and crossed his arms over his belly. "I shouldn't have let it happen in the first place." He'd felt bad for while since they separated, because it was he who had raised them.

"What could you have done, Bobby? Kept Marylin and Scott together? That's what had started it." Luke reasoned. "You said it yourself we aren't 17 anymore."

"No, you ain't. No, you ain't," the old man said softly. "But just 'cause you've grown up, don't mean you can't talk to me anymore. You say there's issues, Lilly, talk to me. Otherwise I end up yelling atcha, thinkin' it's a lot more serious." He looked at all three of them and waited. Then to prompt them just a little more, he added, "I ain't trying to play shrink here, but you gotta tell me what's going on between all of you so we can get ya out of this rut."

The problem was that Lillian wasn't sure she wanted to tell him everything. If she did, he might fully go gray or loose the hair he still had left. Or shoot something. Part of her preferred that. The blonde looked over to the twins and her gaze settled on Luke. How much should they say?

"I think we're tired, Bobby," Joshua answered instead. He couldn't let Lillian take the fall. "We see the people that are our age partying, working, dating, everything, and I think...seeing it finally made us want some it." The boy glanced at his brother, thinking about the trip to New Orleans he'd just taken and shrugged. "We're hunters. Always will be, but I think we're maybe, I don't know, trying to escape it for a little while? See how the other half lives?"

Bobby spread his hands in incredulity. "_Here_?"

Luke had his eyes locked with Lilly's up until he felt a sudden fit of something inside his stomach. It made him want to suddenly burst.

"We're here because Lil and Mar are tied to their boyfriends, Bobby," he said. "That's why we can't leave. They can't find someone else back home, so they gotta settle for hicks and—and big bosses." Lilly's eyes went wide and she swore she saw jealousy flare in the boy's gaze.

Bobby had turned to the girl at once, shocked beyond what he had been. "Big bosses? Lilly, you got someone _too_?"

Lillian's jaw clenched as she glared at Luke. Why would he do this? She had just managed to begin the transition in another direction without lying, and Joshua had backed her up, but Luke had to throw it all away.

"Yes," she started slowly. "I've managed to find someone."

Luke compressed his hands around the bottle of Coke, making the plastic crinkle. Bobby went cautious. "Who is he? Not a hunter either?"

"It's not important, Bobby," the blonde insisted as she stood up. The door was right there, but even Eric wouldn't have been able to get out the door before one of them stopped him.

Eyes wide, Bobby slapped his hand on the table and demanded, "Whachu mean it's not important?"

"Running off every night to see him—apparently," grumbled Luke. He leaned his elbows onto his knees and watched between his bangs as Lillian fumed. As she stared at him, she saw it—yes she did. He _was_ jealous. She couldn't believe it. And now Bobby flew up from his chair. Lillian snapped her mouth shut.

Joshua had grabbed his brother by the arm, but there was no helping it. Luke had already opened the floodgates.

Lilly squarely faced Bobby and let out a slow breath. "Yes, I'm seeing someone every night Bobby, and no he's not a hunter," she told him.

"Well who is he then?"

"His name is Eric, okay?" she replied, struggling to keep her voice level. "Bobby, you know how much I respect you, so you should know how hard it is for me to say that who I am with is my business and no one else. When I want him to meet you, you will meet him. Now please," she paused and looked specifically at Luke before looking back at Bobby. "Can we please just act civilly and finish this discussion?"

Taking his arm back from his brother, Luke shrugged and continued in his petulant nonchalance. "Hey Bobby just wanted to know what was going on with you, Lil."

Bobby raised a hand and scolded him firmly, "That's enough, Luke. Don't make me grill you on what's going on with _you_. 'Cause you ain't actin' innocent yourself." Luke pressed his lips together. "Now where's Marylin? Did y'all even tell her I made the meeting?"

"Yeah," Joshua said with a nod. "I'll go call her." Not wanting to be with any of them, the boy took out his cell phone and left the room. Outside, he walked several meters away from the motel and dialed his cousin's number.

As he waited, at _Merlotte's_ Marylin's phone rang. She was pouring a cup of coffee. And she had her apron on—yes, she was working. As she saw that it was Joshua, she swallowed and didn't answer. She had taken the shift on purpose, managing twenty minutes after 12 to be in the clear. Of course it wouldn't last. She'd been biding her time.

Letting the call pass, she imagined Joshua's reaction as she took the coffee to Andy Bellefleur. He smiled his thin-lipped smile and stared at her curiously.

"So no more Wild Life agent?" he asked.

She couldn't force a smile and just shook her head. "Looking for something new. It took a toll," she explained.

Andy nodded as if he knew what her "job" had entailed and took a sip of the drink. "That'll do it. So what're you doin' when yer off work?"

Marylin hadn't realized what he was asking when she tried interrupting him. "Actually, Andy I got to take my break. Sorry." The man opened his mouth and she spun on her heel and left.

As she walked to the back, passed the kitchen where Terry was, she went straight to Sam's office, and Joshua had managed to call again, although she still didn't answer. Being Sam's girlfriend and all gave her privilege to enter his office. She found it empty, took out her phone, and lingered a minute or two while she deliberated on whether to text Joshua or not. No, not call. She didn't want to.

Shit, she was in trouble. She hadn't stooped this low into cowardice before.

Back at the motel, Joshua got an answer after waiting three full minutes after his second call.

_Hey, working. Sorry. Sam needed someone to cover Sookie again. With Lilly gone, there was no one else. _

Knowing there was nothing he could do, Joshua swore under his breath and headed back into the hotel room. "She's working. Says she can't make it."

Bobby thought working at _Merlotte's_ was ridiculous enough—but now it was more important than family? "She ain't gonna come to me, I'm gonna find her. I don't care if I walk in on the two of 'em," he meant her and Merlotte. "Lilly, when are _you_ working?"

"I'm supposed to be in by one," Lilly answered with a grimace.

"You tell her what I said then," he said to her firmly. "And I'll come by in a couple hours, check on ya. Meanwhile, I'm gonna make a call to Joseph Baits. He's been demon-watchin' for me, lookin' out for all the signs. You three watch your backs like I told you before."

With his index finger raised, Bobby looked at them sternly—but only because he wanted nothing to happen to them. The twins stood and all three of them nodded obediently, and just before they went, the old man's face lightened with the small, rueful smile of a father. It seemed like just a couple years ago they were teenagers.

"And then you can get back to your soap operas," Luke said with a bit of joke returning, the last on his way out. Bobby rolled his eyes and the door shut behind him.

* * *

Joshua had only texted back, _OK_, and Marylin was left guiltier, because she had never lied to him like this. Needing to collect herself, she took a seat in Sam's desk chair and put her elbow on one of the armrests. She sighed, ran a hand through her hair, wondered what to do. Her shift was over in a couple hours. Just in one hour (less now), Lilly's began. And then Marylin returned to work until close right along with her. That's the way they had been scheduled. And Marylin still needed to pick out a gift for Sookie's shower—the hunter didn't even begin to think of what she'd get for her. It was the last thing on her mind. Perhaps she could suck it up and pay Bobby a visit herself when she got her couple hour break. Yes, maybe that would be best.

The door opened as she considered what to do first—buy the gift, or see Bobby. Sam came in and was surprised to see her. She quickly stood up from his chair.

"Hey, you a'right?" It seemed like he was asking her that frequently.

She let out a breath and quickly nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I'm good. Just took my five-minute break." Of course, he didn't look convinced as he shut the door and his eyebrows drew together. She added, "And…I was supposed to go to a meeting Bobby called, but I couldn't."

"Well I could've let you come in later…" Sam said as he went to her.

She pocketed her phone. "No, no. It's fine. I'll just see him later."

"You sure?" Sam lifted a hand to scratch the side of his head, wincing slightly. "'Cause when I saw 'im leave last night, he uh…he didn' look too happy." And he remembered the tail of what Lilly had said.

Marylin looked away as if she could hide her guilt by not looking at him. But he inclined his head to searched her eyes and put a hand on her shoulder to get her to look at him. She thought she was going to sound like a child. "He wasn't. I know why he's not happy."

Sam's blue eyes studied her gray ones. "Why?"

"He's not happy because we're here. Because we don't usually do this."

His expression faded at that and he said, "Oh."

Marylin went on. "He probably wanted to convince us to leave, to hit the road again because that's what he thinks we should be doing."

As his hand slid off her shoulder and he took a few steps back to turn and look away, she felt her heart plunge immediately. His hands dropped to his sides. "So he's goin' to be takin' you away from here?" From him.

"No!" she answered, alarmed at his question. "No, Bobby can't force me to do anything. I'm a grown woman, after all. He's just a little stuck in his old ways, and he's not happy that Lilly and Luke had up and left to New Orleans. And he hasn't seen us in a while, and we're not like we used to be."

Sam looked back at her, his voice a little heavier with his drawl. He was far from smiling. "And how did you used to be?"

"Like the Mystery gang, but it was far from the like the cartoon. We fought constantly and it took us forever to realize we were better hunting separately," she explained, but hesitated in approaching him.

"Why?" Sam's mind drifted as he was reminded who Marylin was and what she did, no matter that she wasn't doing it at present. The woman lifted her hands, shrugging, pausing because she didn't know how to answer.

"Because male hunters happen to be stubborn and mostly all the same when it comes to women hunting. They don't think we can do it as well as them, and obviously Lilly and I disagree."

The man's eyebrows drew tighter as he crossed the room, his thinking deepening, and his unease. But not because he thought she was going to leave. She wouldn't. He believed her. It was because of another thought that entered his mind—as he thought about Bobby. Steadily but quite quickly, Sam felt an anxious knot form in his stomach. His hands slowly fisted at his sides. He stood with his back to her. After silence between them reached a full minute, she walked towards him, and then he finally said something:

"You think he knows 'bout me?" he asked her.

"No," she said shortly. "Why would he know about you?"

"'Cause he looks like a good hunter an' all. And like he could figure it out."

"Just by looking at you?" Marylin said.

He looked back at her, perhaps feeling a little silly. "I just thought he could."

"It's not like you shift at work," she reasoned. "There's no reason for him to figure you out. You don't stand out. Are you worried?"

Sam ran a hand through his hair and then reached towards his desk to pick up one of the documents that was on the surface. He pretended to look over the numbers. "No. I was just wonderin' is all. Just don't want any surprises."

"There aren't going to be any surprises. You don't have to worry about it. He isn't going to find out because I'll make sure of it."

"'Cause he isn't goin' to be as acceptin', right?"

Marylin was surprised by the flatness in his tone. She stepped closer to him so that she could see his face. He was frowning over the document he held in one hand, not looking at her, leaning on the edge of the desk with his other hand. She couldn't lie to him.

"No, he wouldn't. At least…I don't think so. But—but I don't care, Sam. And I certainly don't think Lilly would care what Bobby would think of her and Eric, and he's a vampire. You're not. You don't—you," she put her hand on his free forearm, "don't have a bad bone in your body." He scoffed a little. "Sammy…" Her hand slid up to his bicep. He tore his eyes off the paper but didn't regard her completely. She continued to coax him. "Even if he did find out about you, he wouldn't deem you dangerous, because you're a good guy. And Bobby knows I have good judgment."

"But I'm a shifter," he interrupted.

"But it doesn't matter to me. _I_ don't care." Marylin took in a breath and leaned towards him to place a kiss on his cheek. When she pulled away, she didn't pull far. "He's not intolerant. He just tries to watch out over us. I think I picked the right man."

Merlotte slowly put the document down, sighed softly. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Yes, I do." Marylin smiled and gave him another kiss, this time on his lips. "You're sweet and kind." She kissed him again and felt him return it. "And honest," she added. He smiled finally and chuckled.

"Yeah?"

"Yes," she said with eyes closed.

"What else?" Snaking his arm around her aproned waist, he gently pulled her to him, and she put her arms around him.

After another kiss, she said, "And smart, and handsome, if I do say so myself." Both laughed. Then she pulled away to look at him and said, "You like hearing about yourself?"

Sam grinned, tilted his head slightly. "I liked where you were going with this. Plus, now I'm thinkin' I got myself the right woman."

Marylin gave a girly giggle, blushing, but he didn't let her say anything because then he turned her suddenly so that the table was behind her, and he kissed her ardently because he felt it was his office and he could do whatever he wanted in it. And she had made him feel better, and he wanted her, and she him. She made him feel happy and good.

However, they only lasted in this capacity for a few minutes before someone suddenly entered behind them.

A loud gasp was followed by a, "Oh, Lord!" which was shrieked. Arlene had barged in without so much as a knock on the two snogging and feeling each other up, and with the desk behind Marylin like that... They broke apart as soon as they had heard her. But when Sam looked back, the woman was closing the door. He huffed—that was the last thing he wanted her to witness.

"Arlene?" he called after her. "Arlene?"

The woman hesitated by the door, holding her hands splayed up, partly freaked out, partly grossed out. She made a face and one of her characteristic moan/wines. She stepped back to the door and only a foot into the office, and her boss and fellow waitress were a meter apart, embarrassed.

Sam opened his mouth to amend the two of them, but Arlene interrupted like a scolding grade school teacher.

"Now while you two were—were doin' what you were doin'…even though this ain't the time and place for that, and you didn't even lock your door!—I was out there being waitress, busboy, hostess…even bartender! I know you two can't keep your hands off each other, but can you just _try_ to while you're here at work?" It was like a current of electricity was going through her while she spoke. "So nona us see any of that." She gestured with her hand like she didn't know what to call it. "You're ma boss! Who is not bein' a very good one lately, I'm sorry to say!"

"Yes, Arlene!" Sam went through his hair with his hand, wincing. "I know. I'm sorry." He glanced Marylin, who wiped her mouth, put a hand at the small of her back to lead her out of the room. "We're coming." And Arlene spun on her heel and they followed her out. The redhead went straight to the kitchen window where they were ready orders waiting for her.

Right before entering the dinning room, Sam gave a quick kiss on Marylin's temple and asked, "Hey, you goin' to that dinner Sookie's got planned tomorrow?"

She had forgotten about it. "Oh—um, I'm not sure. I didn't really know that I was invited."

"Well, Sookie said you were, and Lillian, too. I think your whole family, actually, but of course it's your guys' choice. I think they got some vampires coming—like Eric, I'm pretty sure."

Marylin's face couldn't help a glower. "Oh. Of course."

As they discussed, the two of them made their way to the bar. Sam looked just as uncertain. "Yeah, I'm not in the best of terms with them either, but Sookie wants all of us to be there for her. And she is one of my waitresses… And it's her weddin' 'n all."

Marylin looked to see what new people came in and said, "Right. I guess I'll see. If you're going to be there…"

Sam nodded. "We got time to think about it."

After giving out the food, Arlene came with an order of afternoon margaritas. "Am I gonna havta start playin' boss? Because I don't think I'll be able to handle any more jobs," she said. And Marylin and Sam exchanged one last look before Marylin hurried to some customers. They would help to take her mind off things.

* * *

Half an hour later, when Lilly came in, Sam saw her from his usual post and wondered how it went with her family meeting. He was sure she was pissed at Marylin. He only hoped there wouldn't be a fight between them that would put him in an awkward position.

As she crossed the floor, he asked her kind of hesitantly, "Hey, Lilly, how ya been?"

Surprised to see him come over to her, Lillian gave him a smile just as hesitant. "I'm fine, thanks. How are things here? Sorry I couldn't come in sooner."

"It's okay. We handled it," he said assuredly enough.

Passing Arlene said with dryness, "Sure we did." Sam shot a look at the back of her head, and Lilly started to the back because she needed to get changed. And she said nothing about the meeting, so Merlotte called after her:

"Are _you_ gonna come to the dinner?"

"What dinner? Sookie and Bill's?" she asked as she reached into her bag to pull out her apron.

"Yeah, Sookie seems pretty excited about it," he replied, trying to keep the worry from his voice.

"Well, it is for her wedding," Lilly reminded with a smile. "Yeah, I'll be there."

Her boss nodded and forced a smile and picked up one of the glasses on the bar counter to wipe down. Marylin was at the far side of the dining room, getting down an order for Jason Stackhouse and his buddy Hoyt Fortenberry. The former was just as surprised as everyone else who saw her working, but was polite enough because of what they'd gone through together. Plus, she was a hunter, and he still got in his mind that he could be good enough to try hunting. And—he had told Hoyt because Jason couldn't keep his mouth shut

"Maybe you should join the police academy instead," she offered as gently as she could. "Both of you. I think you two would really be good."

Hoyt, not as dim-minded as Jason, but certainly naïve, leaned forward on the booth table with his long arms and asked in a low voice, "But did you really kill ghosts and demons 'n stuff like Jason said?"

Marylin's smile weakened and she let out a breath. She turned back to Jason. "Jason—it's really important that you don't spread this around. We don't exactly go doing the same. In fact, we try not to tell anyone!"

"I'm sorry—I'm sorry. It sorta slipped a coupla days ago." Jason quickly lifted his hands. "But Hoyt won' tell nobody. Won'cha Hoyt? He's gonna promise." He quickly shot his buddy a look. Hoyt nodded quickly, swallowing.

"I won't tell," he swore. "Promise."

"'Cause it's their law," Jason enforced like he knew what he was talking about, like he was part of it, sitting straight in his seat with his hands against the edge of the table. "And it's real serious, and if people find out, they could get hurt. We gotta protect 'em from what they shouldn't be findin' out. That's what it's all about." Hoyt was awe-stricken.

Marylin closed her eyes for a moment, deciding it was hopeless for Jason. She held her pad in her hand and realized they didn't even order yet. "Are you still hungry?" she asked.

"What? Oh, yeah!" Jason smiled sheepishly; instead, he looked goofy. "Sorry 'bout that, Mare'lin. I'll get the…chicken fried steak and a Bud."

"Pork chops for me," Hoyt said cheerfully. "Oh, and Bud too. Thanks."

"Okay. I'll be back with the beer." And before they said another word, she went away. They continued talking—about hunting, of course—and were whispering, leaned towards each other, as if that wouldn't attract attention.

As Marylin was pouring the beers, Lilly came out of the back in her uniform and the two saw each other. Lillian didn't want to fight. She wasn't in the mood. The girl was already trying to figure out how she would handle Luke; she didn't need to struggle with Marylin as well.

"The meeting went okay, by the way," she told her as she started scrawling down the specials on the top page of her order pad. "Bobby is fine."

Marylin didn't answer right away. "What did you…discuss then?"

Sam stood at the other end of the bar, wiping glasses to a shiny perfection, and wasn't looking at them, but his ears were certainly open. He wasn't a nosy man. He just wanted to know that everything was okay—and that he truly was out of the clear.

The blonde shook her and looked around the relatively slow restaurant so that she wouldn't have to look at her friend.

"It started out okay. Basically that we were just tired and needed a break, then..." Lillian finally turned and looked over at Marylin. She needed to make sure she didn't know anything. "Luke deliberately picked a fight, Mar. He brought up Eric knowing the kind of reaction Bobby would have."

Marylin stopped pouring the beer, meet her gaze, shocked. "What? _Why_?"

"That's what I'm still trying to find out!" Lillian turned back to the specials menu, her nerves obviously frayed by her inner battle. "He almost looked...jealous, but he has no reason to be."

"Jealous?" her partner repeated. She glanced briefly at Sam, who looked at her but resumed his business. Marylin paused over the two frothy glasses of light beer. Well, Luke did take Lilly to New Orleans _alone_. And before all of them had broken up, he was with her for a short spell. Obviously it didn't work out.

"I always did think he still had feelings for you," Marylin confessed a little cautiously.

"You're not serious," Lillian shot back, giving her friend an incredulous look. "He seemed happy to be free and sleeps with anything in a skirt."

"Maybe to forget you." She went back to Jason and Hoyt to give them their drinks.

Lillian watched her go, not believing that she might be right. Aside from Marylin, Luke was her best friend. He couldn't have felt that way, could he?

Unfortunately, she wasn't given anymore time to think about it. Arlene gave her a look that could have killed, which promptly pushed the blonde into action. It was time to get to work.

* * *

The motel door opened and Bobby Singer looked at who stood there, ashamed and ready for a scolding. But as the old man regarded his visitor, he didn't yell, didn't reproach in any way. He just let out a huff between his thin lips and graying beard, and stepped aside. He said nothing. His face showed nothing. Marylin walked into the room without a word and swallowed inwardly. It had taken an hour and half to convince herself to come here, and she had less than half an hour left before she had to be at work again.

CSI was on again—cops were investigating the gruesome murder of some woman—but Marylin didn't comment on it either. Bobby had been watching it idly while looking over barometer pressure data, whether reports, news paper articles of the area—all of Louisiana, really, and parts of the surrounding states. Why? Marylin deduced from a few glances at the display on the table it was for demon watch.

She broke the silence to ask: "Any…leads?"

Bobby answered impassively, "No. Not yet." Then he saw the plastic bag in her hand—from some boutique in Monroe. "What's that you got?"

She looked down at it as if she hadn't realized she was still holding it. There was a box in the bag. "Uh, a dress for a friend's bridal shower that's tomorrow. Lilly's supposed to be there too."

Just hearing that had the old man wondering if his girls had any hunter left in them. Marylin saw the mute, disappointed disapproval. If he was still angry any by now, he was so tired that it was deflated and he was too exhausted to act on it—for his kids hadn't done anything like this before. Work as waitressing, bridal showers. He still didn't know what to do about any of it.

So he asked, "When's she getting married?" because perhaps knowing would determine the duration of their stay that way.

And Marylin replied, "In a week." But she left out to whom Sookie was getting married. Bobby just didn't need to know. Marylin put the gift on the bed, and slowly sat down beside it. Bobby stood by the chair he'd occupied before she arrived, and watched her as quietly as she watched him. It wasn't a staring contest, nor was Bobby trying to intimidate her into telling her what was up with her, but Marylin was first to look away after a moment. She hung her head slightly, Bobby frowned a little. Then he asked lightly enough:

"You make any good tips?"

The question took her off-guard a bit as she looked up at him again. "Uh, yeah. I made some good ones."

"You enjoyin' it?"

"The tips, Bobby?"

"I mean workin', Marylin."

"Oh." She just couldn't look him straight in the face as she told him the truth. "Yes, I am." It took her mind off things. It was normal. It made her feel normal. It gave her a solid reason to be on her indefinite break.

But the old man didn't understand. "Okay. What about hunting?"

"What about it?"

Bobby sighed again and took off his old baseball cap. As he ran his hand across his bald spot head he said frankly, "It came to my attention—I mean, it looks to me like—Marylin, that you just…don't want to do anymore."

Marylin got a note of alarm in her voice at once. She almost stood to her feet. "When did I say that?"

"You didn't have to say it, Mar. I could just tell. And I can tell now." She stared at him. He went on ruefully, sat down in his chair. "For starters, you didn't come to the meeting."

"I'm sorry. I had to work," she explained.

"So you said. 'Cause I've sure been noticin' the diner _so_ busy during the day." He kept his voice level. He rarely yelled at her. _She_ always tried to keep her restrain even if she wanted to burst at his questioning. "And they couldn't get nobody else while you talked with your family."

Marylin opened her mouth, fumbled for an answer. "I—no, Sam asked, and I couldn't say no because there'd only be one waitress."

Bobby's eyes widened partially at the excuse. "Okay. Where're the resta them?"

"There's only four—including the one who worked with me—the one who's getting married, Lilly and me."

"That's it? So that's why your boyfriend has you workin'? Because he's got no waitresses for his business?"

"No!" she immediately said. "No, that's not why. Well, they are short staffed, Bobby, but I offered to work there, before Lilly and the Twins decided to as well. I…wanted something to do—and to help Sam out."

"Help Sam out—because you have nothin' to do?" Bobby repeated. When he made it sound like that… Marylin fisted the hand she gestured with because her excuses didn't appear good enough.

"I—I _like_ it," she confessed once more.

"So you said, Mar. But how long have you been thinkin' of staying here?" he asked her. And suddenly, the concern and fret in the old man was too much for her. She stood. She dithered again, shrugging.

"I don't know, however long I feel like it," she said. She wasn't looking at him. Her eyebrows were drawn. She was between frowning and glowering. It was as if she had been, still was, the eldest daughter in their little family—always the good one, the one who did the right thing (from what she'd been taught—and this sudden change in her just didn't make sense. It didn't to her, either, but that's why she didn't think about it and just did whatever she wanted to do, what she thought she had to, for _herself_.

Bobby even voiced this. His words were soft. "This ain't like you."

"Well, I suppose I've changed," she retorted.

"Have you spoken to Scott?"

The unexpected question made her feel even more unease. She looked at him unblinking. "No, why would I?"

"Lilly told me earlier that he was hunting a werewolf in West Virginia."

Marylin felt a little relieved. "Yeah, he is."

"And she's also told me she's been seeing someone too. Some…I don't know, "big boss" as Luke put it. Have you meet the guy? She told me nothing about him, but I didn't like the sound of it."

Bobby never usually messed with their romantic lives—it wasn't his business. High school crushes, post high-school casual dates. He didn't care as long as his kids used their heads (and it was always an awkward topic, anyway). But here and now, the women's boyfriends were the ultimate reason as to why they were still in the town. And they didn't have to admit it straightforward, Bobby just knew.

Marylin didn't look clueless, either. "Well?" he prompted.

She was put at a crossroads—whether to rat Lillian out or not. If Marylin was still at the peek of her anger like she was when her friend had gone to New Orleans with Luke, she probably would've told on her. Because she would've been driven on her emotions. She would've told Bobby that Eric was a vampire, a sheriff, and an asshole. Most importantly a vampire—someone Lilly was not supposed to be with. They couldn't really escape the vampires that were in this area, so they had to be tolerated. But not—not slept with. However, Marylin said none of that. Perhaps she was deflated too. And she didn't want to fight any more. Lilly would have to tell all of that to Bobby herself.

As Marylin started to the door because she had to go, she tried not to show her utter dislike for Northman and just said flatly, "Yeah, I met him. He's not my type, but Lilly likes him. His name is Eric Northman."

"Eric Northman," Bobby repeated. The name sounded like a big boss' even to his tongue. "What's he do?"

"Owns a club," she said shortly. But before he could ask more, she turned the door handle and opened the door, took a step outside. "My shift is starting soon, I have to go. If you're going to get dinner then, I guess…we'll all see you soon." She forced a weak smile, but Bobby didn't smile as he said warily:

"Yeah."

When the door closed, the old man turned to the laptop that was on the table.

* * *

_The Next Day – The Shower_

Lillian couldn't keep the small smile from her face as she pulled up to Sookie's house. The girl had decorated the outside of her home beautifully. Just beside the old country house on its lawn, covered in a soft white table cloth, was a picnic table with a couple of simple centerpieces—white daisies in jam jars with blue stones and water in the bottom. Side tables had been set up with small cakes and an assortment of finger food. Sookie had even gotten help to tie white balloons to several of the tall, old trees and attached them with arching white streamers. Done any other way would have made it look like Halloween, but the girl had used enough precision to pull off the sight. The day was perfect too—not too hot for once, and breezy. The previous day's humidity from rain had gone but caused everything to bloom, from the grass and trees, to the dogwood flowers and magnolias that were scattered throughout the property. Their aromas suffused the air with a lovely freshness.

There were already one or two women there, and they both helped bring out pitchers of lemonade and bottles of wine. Of course, on closer inspection, one could also see a small iron drum filled with ice and beer, compliments of _Merlotte's_.

Lillian switched the baby blue wrapped package to her other arm and shut the Mustang door. As she approached the site she called out, smiling. "Sookie, you were supposed to let other people handle your bridal shower!"

Sookie lit right up as she saw her friend. While Lilly didn't wear a dress (their rescue mission to the Fellowship of the Sun had been the first and last time), she had on a pretty lace-trimmed, white, spaghetti-strapped tank layered over a teal colored tank and a pair of blue jeans. Her wavy blonde hair flowed freely over her shoulders, but the sides were pinned back with two simple bobby pins. Sookie's own was up in a careful, delicate coif behind her head, and she wore a silk summer dress no doubt bought by Bill.

Marylin's car arrived a second later, coming to a stop on the gravel a few meters away from the Ford. Though her enthusiasm appeared a little forced, seeing Marylin back with her partner had Sookie dropping what she was doing to trot over and greet them. Marylin wore a short-sleeved, black and white polka dotted dress that Lilly decided she'd recently bought—because of the countless road tripping, both knew each other's minimal wardrobe. Seeing her friend in a dress though had Lilly wondering if maybe she should have sprang for a new outfit as well. Everyone else was wearing dresses as well.

"I couldn't just sit back an' watch people labor away for me," Sookie said and both watched Marylin shut her car door. "It wouldn't feel right. I'm glad both of you made it! I know you've got your uncle here an' all, and you've been spending time with him."

"It's not like I could miss out on it," Lilly told her, marveling again at how Sookie managed to say anything that came to mind. Rather than dwell on her attire, Lillian just shook the thoughts off. It was too late now. "Where would you like us to put the gifts?"

"Oh, just over there." Sookie pointed to a lone table just by the back porch door. "We'll be opening them a bit later. Meanwhile, are either of you thirsty? Arlene and I just made some lemonade."

The said redhead appeared with a couple more plates of finger foods, and Tara was behind her with arms full of rum, tequila, and vodka, which she was already opening while she ambled to her make-shift bar table.

"I'm gonna start makin' the margaritas for whoever wants one!" she announced loudly to them all.

"Sook, I think that's it…" Arlene neatly lined the remaining tables with the appetizers and then smiled and greeted Lilly and Marylin, already doing a little dance from the spiked lemonade she had earlier. Marylin almost snorted.

"Ooh, we're going to have so much fun!" Arlene squealed with joy. The hunters' eyes widened at the sight. The woman had done a complete 180 from the stressed-out grump she usually was at work. It must have been thanks to the booze already making its rounds.

Rumbles of engines announced more guests.

"I'll take a margarita, Tara!" Lillian called with a wave to the woman. Margaritas were too good to pass up.

As the blonde headed over to the indicated table to put her package down, and Marylin followed at a slower pace, a Prius came to a stop beside her Camaro. A surprisingly familiar brunette woman stepped out of the energy-saver car and waved at the guests already bustling around the picnic tables. Sookie went to greet her, along with the other two ladies who arrived, and Marylin lingered behind Lilly and watch them. They realized that the brunette was in fact Doctor O'Connell. But upon briefly meeting her gaze, they saw that Evelyn had absolutely no recognition of them.

Lillian slowly walked beside Marylin, saying quietly: "Why is she here?"

"I guess she knows Sookie," answered her friend with as much surprise.

"Hey you," said Evelyn to Sookie, and smiled and linked her arm with the girl's. The small group headed over to the picnic table. "So one week? All the way up in Vermont? I wish I could see it."

"Yer not comin'?" asked Tara, a pitcher full of margarita in one hand and three glasses in the other.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know if I can get off. I will try, though," she promised the blonde beside her.

"Actually, the ceremony's gonna be here. We're all goin' to gather at the church, and then Bill an' I are going to fly off to Vermont to make it official," Sookie told the doctor, then glancing at her other two guests, whose smiles were a little artificial, simply because it was a vampire/human wedding. But Sookie _was_ their friend. "So no one hasta miss it!" said the bride.

"I bet all of Bon Temps'll be there," said one of the two other ladies, big-haired and named Rosie. "Well, those who support us, and it seems like most do. Our friends." Sookie grinned and briefly hugged them to her. Fortunately she didn't notice the uncertainty on their faces as she led them to the hunters.

"Girls, I don't know if you've been introduced yet before…but this is Lilly an' Marylin. They've been stayin' here in town. Girls, this is Rosie, Claire, and Evelyn. I went to school with Rosie and Claire, and Evelyn's been a dear friend to Grams and I."

"Nice you meet you." Marylin smiled a little suspiciously, and she and Lilly shook their hands briefly, all the while observing the doctor who still had absolutely no recognition of either of the hunters.

"Aren't you rangers or somethin'?" said Claire after a few minutes of very deep thinking. "I coulda sworn I saw you before, over at Merlotte's. You both came to investigate somethin'."

"Yeah, we did. And you might've seen us recently, maybe even yesterday at Merlotte's because we're working there for a little bit," Marylin explained patiently enough to jog Claire's memory.

"That's right!" she said finally. "I saw yew two."

Having overheard, Arlene pranced over to them with a half full margarita.

"But they did take care of the beast! It was the thing that killed Daphne and that weird woman that'd been found in the parking. Remember all that?" she asked them. "It was like a beast or something and it took out their hearts—" Sookie couldn't help a grimace. "Sookie, you saw it, right?"

"Actually I forgot about it until now," the blonde replied with a tight sweetness. "But remember, Arlene, it's all over, so let's keep the mood from sourin'. Everything's all over now. How about each of you try Tara's margaritas?"

Encouraging the women to have one, Sookie shot a quick, uneasy glance to Marylin and Lilly—the last thing Sookie wanted was the town's previous happenings to be reminded of again.

"Why don't we all get settled?" suggested Evelyn as she glanced towards the table. "I had the night shift and didn't get a chance to eat anything before coming."

"You didn'?" asked Arlene, her face aghast. "Well, then we better fill you right up!" She proceeded to boast about the cooking, having helped Sookie, and two led the women to the little buffet, while Marylin and Lilly lingered behind to pass a few whispers.

Marylin told her friend about what happened with the doctor, how she offered her help to them, and how neither Marylin nor Joshua knew what to do after seeing Evelyn was still set on delving into their world—until Castiel later showed up. "He said he'd take care of it, so it seems like he did… She doesn't remember anything, not even us."

"So we're gonna eat first?" asked Tara, who went to the other side of the table and grabbed a small crust covered hot dog and popped it in her mouth.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," said Evelyn, and took a plate to gather some of the food for herself.

Forcing themselves to act normal, the hunters joined the women, and just as they all sat, several more of Sookie's friends arrived, providing more gifts and best wishes. Small and intimate, the bridal shower commenced. Tara soon announced the first game they would all play, which involved shots of booze. It was the perfect icebreaker to banish the minor caution Tara saw in some of the women, and allowed for Sookie's best friend for once to keep her cool. After the second round, Rosie and Claire were already giggling mad and swaying in their chairs.

Though Lillian wasn't known to have the highest tolerance, even she marveled at how quickly the small town women seemed to buzz. It was shocking. By the time everyone had gotten their drinks and wandered around the picnic table to figure out where they were to be seated, every one of them seemed to be giggling in an alcohol-induced high. Lillian joined them in the search for seating assignments and discovered that whether by accident or someone's meddling hands, she and Marylin were made to sit next to each other. Even though much of the previous anger between the two had died down to a smolder, both realized they had to momentarily put aside their differences. It was Sookie's Bridal shower after all, and neither was immature enough to ruin such a wonderful moment for their friend with their own petty grievances.

* * *

Although the waitresses of _Merlotte's_ were all gone, Sam had a couple of back ups to man the entire day. Two older women who had waitressing experience back in their days and who were frequenters of the restaurant, too. They knew every detail of the menu by heart and even avidly threw their opinions of each dish to the customers. However, they didn't wear the uniforms nearly as well as their younger counterparts. When one of them, Mrs. Fortenberry, had brought in shorts to wear, and with her size, Sam worried his regulars would be scared away. The woman was a sensitive one, so when he said that wearing the white shirt and apron would do just fine, she took his suggestion entirely wrong and with offense. So he said not another word to her.

Thankfully the busboys were available to work, otherwise his establishment would've had to simply close the day, or Sam would've had to do it all. But without the women, the Twins felt their jobs were rather dull. And Mrs. Fortenberry and her friend kept giving them suggestive looks. Lafayette could only laugh.

Bobby decided to grab a bite to eat just as the boys were in the back taking care of dishes—and also the old man wanted to speak with Sam. Merlotte knew this because the moment the hunter stepped in, he locked eyes with the shifter and went to him and his bar.

Sam took a step back without meaning to, as if Bobby was about to take him down. But in reality, the hunter was going to do no such thing.

As he sat down in front of them, Bobby said in a friendly tone, "Sam Merlotte? I don't think we've met properly."

"Uh no, sir. I don't quite think I've had that pleasure yet," Sam replied, his brows furrowed with what could have either been construed as worry or concentration. "Seems you know me, but other than knowin' that you know my newest class of employees, I don't seem to know you." The owner of the bar put down his rag and watched Bobby carefully.

"Well, I'm Bobby Singer." The man put out his hand and Sam had no choice but to shake it. A firm shake that had him chuckling slightly. "I've raised the kids practically their whole lives. I'd heard they been stayin' here for a while, so I drove down here to check on 'em."

Sam nodded and braced his hands on the bar casually. "That's what they said," he confirmed. "Well, you're welcome here at Merlotte's... whenever you'd like. They're good kids." His words weren't forced, but they were slow in that southern drawl way.

Bobby nodded and smiled just a tad. "I'm glad to hear."

There was a moment or two of silence between them and then Sam offered: "Well, how about a beer on the house, Mr. Singer?"

When Bobby lit up at the idea of a free cold one, Sam relaxed inside. "Oh, sure thing. Thank you, son." And Merlotte quickly went back into the fridge and pulled out a bottle, popped the top, and placed it in front of the old man.

Sam watched him take a pull. Then, as he was about to step away to tend to other things at the bar, Bobby stopped him, nursing the bottle in his two hands.

"Actually, Sam, I also came to ask around about somethin'. Maybe you can help me." Suddenly, there was a squint in Bobby's eyes, a squint of resolve. Something serious floating in his mind.

Sam's inside turned to jelly. Here it was. Marylin had been wrong. Her uncle knew all about him, and here it was going to come out. Did he have time to run?

He tried to keep the fear out of his voice. "What's that?"

Bobby wiggled his mustache slightly, pressed his lips together, stared at his bottle and its condensation briefly. He thought about how he'd put what he had to ask in words. The couple moments had Sam paling as he waited, his eyes steadily widening as he imagined what he'd say. _Yer a shifter, ain't you?_

The old hunter cleared his throat.

"Have you heard someone called…Eric Northman by any chance?"

"Eric N-Northman?" Sam couldn't believe his ears. "Uh, yeah I have. What about him?"

"Oh, I heard one of mine has relations with 'im," Bobby said casually, but his eyes narrowed further, unblinking and holding Sam's own as if it were an interrogation method. Bobby took a sip and then said, "But I don't know much else. Except that he owns a club. You heard of it before?"

"Yeah, a club called Fangtasia. Up in Shreveport." Sam shook his head. "I'm not real familiar with him, though."

"That's okay. What you've said is good enough for me," and with a look Sam was certain was the same look he got right before a hunt, Bobby took one last drink and stood. "Thanks for the beer, and your help."

"Yer welcome..." Sam said, wondering why he suddenly felt guilty. If Mr. Singer was actually after someone else and not him, then why did he feel bad?

"Bobby, you here for some food?" Joshua asked as he came up behind him with a small grin. The boy had just finished doing a load of dishes in the back and now both he and his brother were out for another round of the tables.

Bobby turned around as he took off his cap to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "No, Josh. I came to find out some things."

"What things?" Luke asked and paused to put his bin on an empty table. As Bobby regarded them with one of his serious faces, the boys wondered if they were in trouble. The man began relatively calmly but gravely.

"Now, I'm gonna ask ya something, and I want you two to tell me the truth, 'cause I'm sick of chasing for it from you guys."

"What did we do?" Luke said quickly.

"Nothing yet, if you answer me like I want you to," Bobby said a bit sharply, then looked at Joshua. "Have you two ever been to Fangtasia?"

Sam, who was still there at the bar, watched the three in steadily growing alarm. What if Mr. Singer was planning a raid of the club?

After looking at his brother, Joshua shook his head. "No, we never did. Lilly and Mar go, or have gone, but we never went."

Sam swallowed and glanced around his place as though trying to remain calm.

"Why?" Luke said to Bobby, shocked. "_You_ wanna go?" For once he didn't add something like, _And get your ancient groove on?_

"I wanna see if I can find Eric Northman," Bobby told them.

Now Josh shot a look at his brother. "Why, Bobby? Because of Lilly? He's-she's-this is a bad idea. Why don't you just ask Lilly to meet him? She'll say yes."

"Now you know as well as I that she won't, and I want to see who this son of a bitch is."

A muscle tensed in Luke's cheek. He shared the dislike Bobby was already forming. He looked at his brother, but for half a second. "A son of a bitch," he said. And then added, "We're off in a couple of hours, Bobby."

"What do you mean? Luke!" Joshua knew his brother liked the blonde, but this was going to far. It was like he was trying to sabotage her. "Bobby, don't do this."

"Why shouldn' I do this? I'm gonna find the man and just have a talk with 'im. I ain't gonna kill him!"

Luke slapped his rag over his shoulder and there was grit in his expression. His dark brown eyes were drawn. He completely ignored his brother. "You may find yourself wanting to, Bobby. I never met him, but I heard he was a piece of work."

"I'll have my lunch here then, and wait for ya," Bobby decided. Sam's face fell. The three of them didn't seem to realize he was still watching.

Frustrated, Joshua turned around to look around the restaurant and shook his head. "I'm coming with you. I'll see you when we get off." The boy grabbed his bus bin and headed over to clear a table.

Sam watched the three of them, before looking at Mr. Singer. "You enjoy your lunch now, Sir. Luke, I think there's some tables to clear." With one last nod, the owner left the bar and headed back to his office.

Luke reluctantly joined his brother, but the two didn't say a word. And Bobby took a seat at booth on the left side. However, when Mrs. Fortenberry saw him and approached with swaying hips and a look that would devour him on the spot, the old man began to regret his decision.

* * *

"I remember _my_ bridal shower…" began Arlene, who leaned forward across the table as if she was about to divulge something sacred, abuzz with a giddiness induced from her third margarita.

Tara gave a snort and swallowed her mouthful of pie with a long swill of beer. "Which _one_?"

The redhead rolled her eyes with a scowl. "My third one, the one I had in Monroe," she clarified. "But it don't matter which one really, or to who it was. I was gonna say that I remember all the bridal showers I had, an' each one only got better than the last, that I know for sure," she laughed, and Sookie smiled uncertainly at the not-so reassuring statement.

"What I mean is," Arlene turned to her. "It got better each time because I realized what they're really all about, Sook. I don't know why I didn't realize the first time, or the second, but by the fourth, I finally understood."

"Okay, Arlene. What did you understand?" Sookie asked her.

"That it's all about me. Well, the bride, _you_, an' it ain't about no one else, Sookie. 'Cause, come on," she looked at all the women gathered, "the men don't take these things seriously, and that's great for us. 'Cause we gotta be selfish until that big day comes. We gotta take advantage of it. So that if disappointment awaits us later," Arlene's smile quivered, "we know we made the best of it while it lasted…"

The redhead's eyes glazed up and she gave a weak chuckle, to which Sookie frowned.

"Arlene…" Clearly Arlene was still wounded from her previous relationship, when she found her fiancé was a serial killer. And though Sookie couldn't help a little unease at the prospect of the said possible disappointment, she rested a hand on her friend's shoulder to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Sookie. I didn't mean to sound like that. All I'm tryin' to say is," Arlene sniffled, "It's all about you. We're here for you."

The other ladies nodded and agreed, and Sookie blushed and bashfully thanked them as she gave a few of her friends brief hugs. Though Arlene's sentiments were heartfelt, there was an obvious unease that the women just couldn't seem to shake. She was worried for Sookie. It was a big step in her life—and with someone the town didn't entirely trust.

Lillian glanced over at the table that was filled with gifts and the rest of the games they were to play. She stood up and went over to sift through them, until she finally found one that would undoubtedly have them all laughing soon enough.

"Anyone up for another game?" she asked as she came back to the table with a piece of paper with instructions. "How about a scavenger hunt?"

"I don' know if Arlene should be gettin' up and runnin' 'round the yard," Tara said as she eyed the tipsy redhead.

"This isn't a physical scavenger hunt. You ask each other questions," Lilly explained.

"Ooh, like ones tha' get us to tell our deepest secrets?" piped up Claire eagerly.

"That sounds like fun!" agreed Rosie, and pushed away her plate to cradle her nearly-gone drink.

Sookie was thankful for the distraction. "Okay. Good idea. It's about time, too. Lilly…do you want to start then? We can all pass the list around. There's a number by the question, an' each of you should have a number somewhere by your plate. But don't show it to anyone. Read the numbers off the list by questions, and whoever has it, has to answer."

A few moments were needed for everyone to find her number, but once everyone was ready, Lilly settled on a question.

"Number four," Lilly started, looking up from the list to see Tara startle and roll her eyes.

"Yeah, that's me. Surprise, surprise," she commented sarcastically.

Lilly grinned and looked back down at the question. "Have you ever demanded your partner to dance for you as foreplay?"

"Whaaat?" said Tara incredulously. "Ain't that a little personal?"

"That's the _point_," said Claire. "It's supposed to be personal."

"Oh, look. I think she's blushin'," Arlene pointed out cheekily. "Come on, it's just us girls."

Tara took a long pull from her glass and sighed, mulling over the question for a second or two.

"I don't blush, but fa'an. Maybe when me an' Eggs were drunk… Maybe once," she admitted grudgingly. "But at the moment we're not doin' anythin'. He's got PMS lately." She glowered. "Dunno how to cheer him up. Nothin's really workin' anymore…"

Sookie frowned for her friend and touched her hand, whispering, "Maybe we can talk later."

"Well, since you got to answer the question, Tara," Lilly began quickly, "you get to ask the next one."

The blonde reached across the table to hand Tara the list and then settled back in her chair as she sipped at her margarita. It wasn't that she didn't feel for Tara's relationship troubles, but the point of the game was to cheer people up, not depress and unnerve them again.

Though the other questions were just as prying, Tara decided on the first one she saw, and in a rather dull tone read:

"A'right. Number seven, when and with whom was your…best time in bed?"

Everyone turned to find Rosie blush and giggle daintily. "I'm number seven. Uh…let me think a sec," she looked thoughtfully at the sky, and Tara rolled her eyes as they all waited. "Umm… Hmm. Uh…"

"Tick—tock."

"Just a sec!" Rosie promised, and then thought for another second. Just as Tara sucked in a loud, impatient breath, finally the ditz found her answer. She glanced very quickly at Sookie. "I think it was Jason Stackhouse." Rosie didn't appear ashamed at all and slurped through her straw the rest of her drink as the other women giggled too.

"I'm sorry, but 'e was. Sookie, your brother is _fiiine_."

Sookie looked nauseous and waved her hands to dismiss the declaration. "Uh, the whole town slept with him Rosie. You're not the only who thinks that, and please don't go into any details."

"Rosie, you sly, sly girl," said Claire, who had a mischievous glint in her own gaze.

"Next question please, Rosie, if you don't mind," Sookie urged with an uncomfortable smile.

"Alright, but I'm just sayin' he never quit. Mmmm." When she was shooed once again, Rosie accepted the question sheet, and because she'd seen Sookie's number, smiled.

"Number six."

The woman put the sheet down onto the table and looked up at the surprised blonde, not bothering to read the question. Actually, she made it up.

"Where's your favorite spot for him to bite you?" she asked with a giggle, and though there were gasps amongst the table, all of them expectantly looked to the bride-to-be for her to answer.

Sookie's cheeks turned red and she laughed bashfully, shocked. "I didn't know that question was on there! Because I wrote them."

"Well then you must've missed it," Rosie said. "Come on—why don't you jus' tell us? We're all real curious. None of us been with a vampire b'fore."

Lilly kept her mouth shut and felt bad for Sookie.

She twirled a lock of hair by her ear, looking at her friends uncertainly. "Well, if you really want to know…"

The table watched her with minor apprehension, but most were greatly intrigued. Quite frankly, little was known about Sookie and Bill's relationship. Was it really as heavenly as Sookie claimed?

"Bill is a gentleman," Sookie said first and foremost. "If I don't want him to do it, he respects my wishes, but…" The blonde looked around. She smirked a little. "If you wanna know… There's a spot below your collarbone, above your chest, right here," she gestured to herself, where there was a faint, faint spot remaining from a previous night. Her soft tan skin was more than delectable to Bill. It was the warmth he loved.

"That's where…I let him bite me." Sookie smiled shyly.

The ladies gasped again and exchanged looks, eyes wide, but then urged Sookie to continue, and the girl went onto describe the feeling, that after the first time, it didn't hurt very much (despite what people usually thought). The sensation was amazing, and the act was supposed to be very intimate, between two that loved each other. A couple women were speechless, but others appeared jealous. Lilly knew exactly what she meant, but wasn't going to throw her two cents in because she wasn't ready for people to know about her and Eric—she didn't know them either. Nor did she want Marylin to hear. In fact, Marylin wanted to hear this least of all. She looked anywhere but at Sookie. She just preferred shifters, the hunter supposed. Lilly had watched the entire explanation silently and never looked at her partner.

When Sookie saw the keen expressions on Rosie's and Claire's faces, she quickly told them the blood exchange was not something to be taken lightly, and only if they found a vampire for themselves should they seek to discover how it feels for themselves. She didn't want any of her friends to turn into those wild, careless women who offered themselves to vampires as prostitutes. When the bride wasn't looking, Rosie and Claire shared a mischievous glance and prompted their sudden, wordless ideas with more margarita from the pitcher. A few questions later, Tara had to go make more, but she was grateful to get away for a moment from the tipsy guests. As she left she muttered, "_Sluts_."

When she returned and it was Evelyn's turn, and Arlene read her question to the doctor.

"Are you seeing anyone lately? Or is there anyone…you want to see? If so, who is the han'som hunk? Any good-lookin' doctors you know?"

Evelyn smiled coyly and shrugged. "No. No good-lookin' doctors. At least none that I'm interested in." But even as she claimed there was no one, the women saw that there was something in her actions.

"Now, don't you be tellin' lies, Evee. We can all see it plain as day. Who is he?" Tara asked and crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.

"It's nothing, really. There's nothing there—there can't be, but… it's one of those you-wish situations, you know?" the doctor said to them with a shrug.

"Aww. Is he gay?" Arlene presumed. "'Cause I gotta admit, some of them can be cu'e." A few laughed—it was something the redhead would never admit while sober.

"No! Of course he's not," said Evelyn through a laugh.

"Well, tell us about this mystery man then. Then maybe we can figure something out," said Lilly, slightly intrigued by something as ordinary as setting someone up.

"Well, he's very serious, an' really I've only seen him a couple of times which is what makes this slightly ridiculous," Evee explained.

"And you couldn't keep him out of your mind ever since?" inquired Sookie, believing that she knew how the doctor felt. Sookie had been captivated by Bill the very first time they met, and he had been stoic as well.

"Who is he?" asked Marylin. "A patient?"

Evelyn smiled and had given Sookie a slight nod, but shook her head to Marylin.

"No, he's not a patient, but I guess he's in…security, we'll say." Because it sounded silly even to her, the woman laughed.

"Security?" Lilly repeated, growing a little more leery.

"Oh I like the sound of that," one of the other women said. "A man in uniform. Nothin's more sexy than that."

"Evelyn, I didn't know you liked officers," Sookie said, unable to help some insinuation in her voice. "Does he work at the hospital? What's his name?"

Evelyn shook her head, blushing now and laughed. "Oh!"

"Come on…tell us."

"No, no, he doesn't work at the hospital, but… Hey, I thought the game was only to ask one question?" Evelyn said with as she reached forward for the pad of paper. "Okay, who's number two?"

Arlene raised her hand, and the game continued, though Evee received plenty of groans and little comments for slipping away from telling the answer. Lilly and Marylin got their own turns and were more successful at avoiding comments that delved too deep into their personal lives, though the official news of Marylin and Sam being together did slip, and shock rippled across the table. Arlene divulged they couldn't keep their hands off each other even at work, and Marylin reddened furiously. Yet most of the women were happy for her, even added what they thought of Sam—a nice, sweet hunk with a great ass. Marylin sunk in her chair from embarrassment. By this point, most of the women were sufficiently inebriated.

After the game was finished, Bridal Bingo commenced, drinks were refilled, toasts were made (with more crying for Arlene, because she was happy for Sookie, of course), and later it was time to open presents. The ladies all moved their chairs towards the gift table, where Sookie began to open her first gift. It was from Tara, who gave her a bottle of booze and a surprisingly thoughtful card. Sookie read a few of the touching lines, but then upon seeing Tara turn awkward, quickly moved onto the next present before her best friend threw punches at the other guests' snickering.

"And this one is from Evelyn…" Sookie tore the wrapping paper of the box.

Inside the box, was one of the softest mid-thigh bathrobes that Sookie had ever touched. It was the color of a pale pink pearl, and beneath it were several different aromatherapy candles and bath salts and soaps.

"Remember that it's important to pamper yourself sometimes," the doctor told her with a knowing grin.

"Oh, Evelyn, you shouldn't have!" Sookie wasn't used to all this gift giving. "But, oh, thank you," she went to give the woman a hug. "It's great! I'll be havin' bubble baths all the time now."

"With Bill…" said Claire none-too-quietly, and she and Rosie chuckled.

Arlene smiled a bit uneasily and then pointed to the red polka-dotted gift back. "Open mine next, Sook. You'll love it too. It goes with the bath stuff."

Sookie discovered more bath soaps in Arlene's bag, but also a pretty (and overly lacy) nightgown and slippers, while the group's two ditzes giggled some more. Sookie thanked and embraced Arlene, and then moved onto more gifts.

"April… Summer." Lingerie was what they both bought, and the young bride blushed furiously at the prospect of Bill seeing her in the frilly silk getup.

"So who is this mysterious man of yours?" asked Lilly quietly from where she stood slightly behind Evelyn. Sookie continued opening her presents.

"We're back to that again?" Evelyn replied with a grin as she watched.

Marylin took sip of her lemonade. If the doctor was able to move on with her life now, then neither she nor Lilly should mess with it again. "You don't have to tell us," Marylin said in apology for her friend. "It's fine. If Romy and Michelle over there overhear, they'll start bothering you again."

"No, it's alright. Really, I shouldn't even be thinkin' about him. There's nothin' there. I just imagined it," Evelyn explained, earnestly wanting them to understand for some reason.

"Why do you think you're just imagining it?" prompted Lilly.

"There are just some things that aren't supposed to happen, and this is one of them. He's too good."

Marylin drew her brows slightly, now in suspicion. "What do you mean?"

"It's not really something I can explain."

"Try us. We've seen a lot more than you think," Lilly encouraged.

"I don't know how to put it…"

The hunters exchanged brief glances, both trying not to appear apprehensive, but they couldn't entirely help it.

Not wanting Evelyn to give up and clam up, Lilly continued. "Okay, well how about how he looks? Is he cute?"

"Definitely. Dark hair, blue eyes, always really serious, but…sometimes I think he looks little sad. too."

"Sad," repeated Marylin. "Why would he look sad?"

But now Evelyn was getting self-conscious and shook her head. "No—I—never mind. There's no reason. It was stupid."

Marylin frowned and looked at Lilly again, crossing her arms. Deciding it was best to leave the doctor alone, Marylin took her chance and left them when she saw Sookie pick up her little present and discover the Monroe Spa gift card. Sookie seemed to light up—Bill and she could have a day, rather night, of relaxation in Monroe. It was a pleasant surprise to know they had services even for vampires.

Soon enough, all of the gifts had been opened, the food consumed, and the liquor just about depleted. Happy and relaxed from having a really fun time, the women finally started to depart from Sookie's party. It was the point of the day when the sun was just beginning to set, half of it still blue, half of it yellowing steadily and leisurely.

Lilly stepped up beside her brother's Mustang as she called over to her friend. "Marylin, are you heading back to hotel before you go to the dinner?"

"I'm going to Sam's actually—my things are there," Marylin answered as she went to her own car.

"Okay, well I'll see you there," Lilly said as she opened the door of her mustang. The blonde watched Marylin for a moment, almost like she wanted to say more but then decided against it and turned to look over to where Sookie stood, talking with Arlene, who was so drunk by now that she was waiting for Terry to pick her up. "Thanks again for having us, Sookie!"

When she saw the two hunters about to leave, Sookie hurriedly went to them. "Wait, don't go yet!" Marylin was just about to sit inside her seat, then got out because the girl spread her arms for a hug. Marylin gave a small smile and patted her back. Then Sookie hurried over to give one to Lilly.

"I'm so glad you came, an' thank you for the gifts. There were so many o' them. You'll come tonight, right? At eight. To Bill's house. I invited everyone that's close to me. I really want you two to be there." She wanted to get their solemn promises, looked at them so earnestly both hunters felt their heartstrings tug, her big eyes wide with emotion.

"And—and…don't separate again," she added without a thought for tact. She had to tell them. "You guys helped me through so much—you helped everyone so much. And we're so grateful for it. We're so glad you've joined our…our little family here. We don't want to see you unhappy…"

Rather than disappoint the girl, Lillian just nodded with a small smile. "We'll be there, so don't worry. Besides, Eric isn't allowed to miss, which means I don't have a choice about going," she told her with a wink.

Sookie giggled as her eyes sparkled a little. Then she looked to Marylin and tilted her head just enough to give the hunter the idea that Sookie had been aware of her apprehension the whole time. And perhaps she had read her mind, too, Marylin wasn't certain. But Sookie's tender expression told to her to just _give it a chance_, to not worry. That everything would be alright. Because Sookie had faith in every one of her friends not to cause trouble. She wished Marylin would just relax and trust her.

At last, the brunette nodded and briefly glanced away from the bride's pure-of-heart gaze. She gave another small smile. "I'll be there with Sam."

Sookie grinned. "Good, I'm glad! And you can invite your cousins and uncle too—if they'd like to go. I think everyone would like to meet them officially. And of course they're invited to the weddin' too. I want all of you to be there."

There was just a week left till the big day—the kind of wedding Bon Temps never had before. Either her fellow citizens would support her, or would turn on her. But it was a chance Sookie wanted to take, and truly hoped people would be happy for her.

Marylin opened her car door again. However, before Lillian could go, too, Sookie tugged on her hand one last time to tell her something else before the chance was gone. A sudden sagely look crossed her face. Marylin watched through her windshield, not yet closed her door.

"You should tell her, Lilly. She should be happy for you too. She's your friend…"

That day, Sookie realized how good her own friends were, and hoped that both of them would mend their issues and remembered how much they care for each other.

Marylin's face fell slightly. She heard.

"I know she'd care, Lilly," Sookie said, and smiled before letting go and stepping back in direction of Arlene. "I'll see you both!"

Lillian's eyes automatically shot over to Marylin's car as Sookie turned away. They locked with her partner's, but rather than stick around, Lilly finished getting into her car and brought the Mustang to life with its rumbling purr. She didn't want to talk to Marylin about the subject that Sookie had referred to. Her friend wouldn't understand. Not wanting to get caught, Lilly pulled forward and started down Sookie's driveway. She went in one direction (to the motel), and Marylin went to _Merlotte's_.

* * *

_Later that evening…_

Little did the guests know that caterers and decorators had been toiling away at Bill's house for most of the day, so that when they arrived, they saw the resulting extravagance and every detail that had been accounted for. It was by no means supposed to be a large gathering. But perhaps one could've said this was Bill's shower. His house, which was once a beautiful, glorious mansion, (and still was, but had its beauty hidden by mold, dust, and age), had been under minor restoration during the past week or so.

New dazzling vintage-patterned wallpaper on the first floor, of varying shades of dark blue and green. A new chandelier to cast brilliant streams of light throughout the vicinity. A few new pieces of furniture—like a shelving unit for some books, including some favorite tomes of Bill's. A painting to hang on the wall nearby, an oil landscape of the south Bill once remembered. Some shining and staining to the old hardwood floors. They looked virtually new now. The carpets were dry-cleaned. Some of the chairs and couches reupholstered. He also had his place entirely cleaned away from the age he hadn't bothered to get rid of before when he first moved in. But since he and Sookie would soon be man and wife, and she would live with him there, he had had to make it less _vampire_ and more human. There was plenty more to do upstairs, but for the dinner party, they had made ready the parlor and dining room.

There was even a new smell to the place, thanks to Sookie and her aromatic candles, which were lit quite romantically upon end tables and shelves. The human food they had catered also livened the air with deliciousness—finger foods like little glistening barbequed sausages, fried shrimp and calamari, hushpuppies (which had a gourmet twist of some sort of seasoning), creamy and spicy dips, and little sandwiches, and fried chicken wings in various flavors, and some salads with pear dressing and peach bits. It was ordered by Bill who heard word of a restaurant in a neighboring city that was very much loved by humans. And although the other vampire guests weren't very keen about any of it, they had fancy wine bottles arranged for them on a round, white table-clothed table—another catering business that specialized in sprucing up their only form of sustenance. How, Bill hadn't really been certain, but it was very good and would be a one-time thing anyway. They drank their _wine_ in beautiful gold-rimmed glasses.

Everyone was gathered in the parlor of the magnificent family home. There was light blues music playing from an iPod system at one end.

Bill held one of the glasses of dark red liquid, standing beside Sookie, who drank actual white wine from a similar glass. They both regarded their guests with expressions of utter gratitude. Gently, her fiancé chimed on the rim. When all eyes were on them and the chatting quieted, he spoke:

"Thank you all for coming tonight. Sookie and I," he put his arm around her waist, smiling like the groom he was, "We are grateful for your support, and hope you have found the food to your liking. I, personally, found it good, but it had been brought up to the level of excellence by simply having your company alone."

In those gathered before the couple, smiles were shared and light chuckles had. Men and women from the town of Bon Temps had gathered to celebrate with the happy couple as only polite southern manners had demanded.

Lillian stood smiling and sipping at her own glass of white wine beside Eric, dressed in a gentle spring A-line blue dress with a square neck line that ended slightly flared just below her knees. The food was in fact wonderful and light, which was appreciated with the humidity that had inevitably began to settle in the air.

Before the party officially began, Bill added a few last words: "Dinner will begin shortly just in the dining room. We hope you enjoy yourselves."

Sookie smiled up at him and snaked her own arm around his strong back, muttered something loving in his ear. She was wearing a knee-length, off shoulder white dress that had delicate gold patterning across the material—evocative of the actual white dress she'd wear just at the end of the week, as if she couldn't wait. To the guests, it appeared as if the couple was ready to say their vows then and there, right at that moment. They could not wait but were restraining themselves so everything would be entirely perfect. No surprises, no mess-ups, no unneeded events—_measured_. Force once in their lives they wanted everything to go well. And…so far things were.

Who was there: their sheriff, his own girlfriend, Jason, Jessica, Pam (who for once was letting herself smile, artificially or not), Tara (who was managing to restrain her all-around unease of vampires for her best friend); and Sam and Marylin, who had arrived last as Bill was speaking and were at the back. Sam wore a gray suit he had had for years, an off-white shirt, and a simple navy tie, with—of course—his boots; but he had just shined them. Marylin had on a simple black knee-length dress she had also ended up buying simply because she and Lillian never wore dresses. Lillian's, however, had perhaps been bought by Eric, for it appeared at least a several hundred more in price. She stood out as much as Sookie did—everyone else didn't wear attire as bright.

Jason passed by Merlotte and Marylin, a plate of food in his hand. He nodded at them and said through a mouthful of pot stickers, finger pointed in praise, "Loo'in good, you t'oo." His jacket had been lost, and so was his tie.

Sam smiled slightly and returned the nod and held hands with Marylin as they passed into the parlor. Jason went over to Tara, who was on her second glass of wine. The dark, silky floor-length floral dress she wore had his attention. The shifter and hunter made their way to the bride and groom.

Meanwhile, Pam, whose jut of the hip was probably involuntary with any emotion, was handing Sookie a perfectly wrapped silvery red box (8 by 4 by 3), and Sookie was very intrigued as to what the posh vampire could've gotten her.

"For me?"

"For you," Pam repeated in her naturally suffering voice.

Sookie's face lit, she turned over the box. The mystery and the fact she couldn't read vampires' thoughts had her excited (usually she'd slip a peak with others). "Oh, thank you, Pam. What is it?" she asked.

"Somethin' I'm sure you don't have," Pam answered. "From girl to girl. I thought you'd be needin' it every now and then." And that statement had suspicions rising from Eric and Bill as they exchanged glances. Sookie's smile turned shy and she blushed.

"Oh, well. How thoughtful of you."

Pam puckered her lips in a tight smile and did a little flip with her hair. One side of her head was pinned back with a dazzling vintage pin and had her darker blonde hair cascading in waves. Her corseted dark dress looked out of Vogue, and even though this wasn't near to gala, she was very fond of dressing up if it meant she'd stand out.

Eric then quickly held out something for Bill, a black envelope. "And this is something from me."

Bill raised an eyebrow in surprise but smiled and chuckled. "Eric, you shouldn't have."

"Don't mention it," the sheriff said.

He smiled slightly, and so as no awkward moments could arise, Bill put the envelope inside his suit jacket and said Thank you. Eric nodded and regarded the couple with a cool, neutral expression with just a tiny squint in his light eyes. It was as much positivity he could get on his face without his normal addition of intimidation. Bill knew this, and returned his sheriff's thoughtfulness with a smile and light pat on his tall shoulder.

Just then, Sam and Marylin came up beside Pam to congratulate the important couple there. Sam had a bottle of a good scotch in his hand to give, because he couldn't come empty handed.

"Sam, Marylin," Bill said with a nod to each as he reached forward to shake hands with Merlotte. "We are very glad you both could attend."

"Wouldn't miss it," Sam said good-naturedly for him and his girlfriend. Marylin clung closer to him as Eric and Pam glanced them cagily, tall as they were and habitually intimidating, but the vampires were just as restrained.

Marylin squeezed Sam's hand discretely between them, and he did the same, and that was how they kept calm and their apprehension at bay—for Sookie.

"It just wouldn't have been the same without you," Sookie said, her smile warm and eyes twinkling. She didn't have to read their thoughts, so she took the bottle from her boss, and gave him the same soft look she had given Marylin just earlier at the end of her shower—_It would be alright. _Sam gave a faint nod.

"Thank you for this, Sam. I'm just gonna go set these down. Excuse me."

As the bride stepped away from the group with Pam's box and Sam's bottle in her arms, Lillian looked over at Marylin (who was aloof around her; there both were with their boyfriends, after all), but only briefly before her gaze drifted up to Eric. The two men regarded each other in greeting, Sam forcing a smile onto the sheriff and stifling a gulp—because just earlier he hadn't done a thing to stop Mr. Singer from making plans to make a trip to his club. He wondered if Eric knew. He hoped not.

Lilly told the sheriff softly, "I'll be back," before turning to follow after Sookie so she could get something to drink.

Pam sighed and rolled her eyes, finding that her ever-present boredom was beginning to settle in. "Quite the lively crowd you have, Bill," she told him as she looked around, her voice none too sarcastic. Eric gave her a side-glance as if in chiding.

Bill's smile tightened a little at the corners but he only thanked the sheriff's child. Then he began to speak about the big day and Eric's role in it, and Eric assured he had everything ready for the job, as long as Bill did all that Eric said was required of him—filled out the forms and sent an inquiry to the Magisterial Board. Bill was more than grateful for his sheriff's help, and Eric simply said with a bit of smirk and humor that he owed him.

Sam and Marylin quietly left the vampires alone and approached the buffet where Tara and Jason were. They saw Jessica, who was nearby but seemingly shy because she was looking for someone who hadn't arrived. She was dressed in a red baby doll number with her hair wavy to one shoulder.

By the threshold into the dining room, Lillian stopped beside the table of refreshments and poured herself a glass of spiked punch.

"This is really a nice party, Sookie," Lillian told her friend.

Sookie set the gifts down and smiled and turned to her. "Well I'm glad you're enjoyin' it. I'm glad everyone could come and put aside any differences they might have. That's all I ever wanted."

The hunter nodded and settled her empty wine glass down on the table so that she could more comfortably sip at her punch. Not to mention, a dinner party was hardly the place to double fist drinks, or so she had been told. "I extended the invite to Luke and Josh, so I'm hoping they'll be here soon."

As the two looked over the crowd, Sookie asked, "What about your uncle Bobby?"

"Bobby... I think said he wanted to take the night off, but who knows, maybe he'll come." Lillian very much doubted it, though the invitation had been extended.

"Well all of you are invited to the ceremony, so I hope he'll definitely come then. You and Marylin told us so much about him, and you said he was the one who told us how to kill Maryann. I don't know what we woulda done without knowing." Sookie put her arm around Lillian's shoulders and hugged her to her, grinning. "So after all that, y'all are like family to me now."

Lillian just gave Sookie a small smile and nodded, not for the first time amazed by her graciousness.

Sam and Marylin saw what the buffet had for them and both taken a bit of everything and joined Tara and Jason, who was stuffing his face and already tipsy. Tara was as cool as a cucumber with her wine.

"So being best man is a really big job—I gotta keep the ring safe, an' walk Sookie down the aisle," he was saying to Tara. "And _you_—you gotta keep Bill's ring safe."

"I know, Jason," Tara said. "I think I know what I gotta do as Sookie's maid of honor. I ain't freakin' out like you are. It ain't that hard of a job."

"I didn't say it was hard, but it's an important job. And I ain't freakin' out. I'm just sayin' we got important roles in this, that's all. Sam, you ever been best man?"

Sam shook his head and said patiently, "Nope, Jason, I haven'." The four stood in a circle, just as the vampires did on the other side of the room.

"Well maybe you two will get hitched soon, and we can do it a second time," Jason said. Tara rolled her eyes. Merlotte and Marylin reddened and became awkward. Sam chuckled weakly, ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't think that's going to happen any time soon, Jason…" Marylin said as levelly as she could. She hadn't even thought about marriage—ever. Let alone with Sam. Simply because they had more important things to think about. So Marylin changed subjects and asked Tara, "Where's Eggs? Was he invited?"

Tara looked a little sour at that. "Oh, he was, yeah, but he don' like things like this. He didn' want to wear a suit an' all." But because she didn't want to talk about it, that was all she said. In reality, Eggs had been steadily settling into a depression she hadn't known what to do about.

"Did you try the little wieners?" Jason suddenly asked Marylin and Sam, unknowingly changing the subject for Tara whose shoulders relaxed slightly. "They're awesome. And if you dip it in the meatball sauce? Aww, they're heaven, i'm tellin you!"

Sam forked one of them, gave it to Marylin to take a bite because she hadn't gotten any, then tried it himself. They nodded in approval and Sam said to please Jason, "Maybe we should put them on the menu at Merlotte's."

Jason said eagerly, "Yeah!"

So as Jason talked more about the food, and then commented on what the vampires were having and what their drinks probably tasted liked, Jessica slowly approached them.

"Hey, what's that taste like?" Jason asked when he saw the opportunity.

Jessica didn't expect the question and hesitantly looked at her glass. "Uh… I don' know how to describe it. Maybe to you…a little like pennies?"

"Oh." Jason couldn't help a face as Tara gave him a sharp look. "Sounds…good."

Jessica didn't quite know what to say to that and so instead looked nervously at Marylin—why she had gone to them in the first place.

"Hey, uh, I was just wonderin'…your cousins—are they comin'? I thought Sookie said we were supposed to have more people."

Marylin briefly looked at Sam—he had put his arm around her waist—and then regarded the awkward vampire girl with a small smile. "Oh, well yes, Sookie did invite them, but I'm not sure when they're going to come… They're a bit busy with our uncle."

Sam licked his lips. Little did everyone know what "busy" meant. And Marylin wasn't aware either. For some reason, he wasn't able to tell her. Maybe he'd end up regretting it…

Bobby didn't know Sookie and Bill at all, and Luke and Joshua—Marylin wasn't certain about them, but wouldn't be surprised if they didn't come. Although, she wasn't going to say that.

Jessica looked like a pale Little Bo Peep and was only missing her bonnet. She just nodded her head and didn't stay anything. But because she didn't want to look stupid standing alone in the corner, she remained with the four humans and listened to their human conversations, and they didn't mind her there because she was so quiet.

Tara and Jason went on with a bit of bickering, and Jason went onto say what more things Sam could add on his menu if he wanted to spruce things up at his restaurant. Marylin glanced to where Lillian was a few times, back with the vampires with Sookie, and wondered when she'd be able to pull her aside to ask her what Lilly hadn't told her yet.

All too aware of Marylin's glances her way, Lillian was careful to never meet her eyes. If she did, she would have had no choice but to step away from Eric and the others only to land in the machine gun path of Marylin's questions. Sookie's words had been much louder than needed earlier that day, and as a result Lillian had to always seem preoccupied.

"Perhaps one day, Eric…if all goes well we will be fortunate to see…you and Lillian in our place," Bill said unexpected, and drew Lillian's attention back to him and smiling Sookie like a fish on a reel. Eric's face fell. Pam's fell further. Her maker blinked and his adam's apple bobbed in a faint swallow.

"I don't know, Bill," the Sheriff replied shortly. "We will see." Marriage wasn't an easy subject for a man like him. But Bill and Sookie smiled at them as if they didn't realize how different Eric and Lillian's situation were. Love was love to them—it's all that mattered.

"Who knows what will happen to the VRA. Something tells me it'll be a while until it's passed, and other states will follow after Vermont. I support the noble thing you both are doing for yourselves, but I…never cared much for human law, nor its traditions."

Pam crossed her arms, standing on his other side. "The closest Eric came to makin' a union like that is when he made _me_," she couldn't help say, and smiled at the look on Lillian's face she saw in her peripheral vision.

"There have been...unions between maker and progeny before," Bill agreed with a small nod, "but in my experience, that type of union is different."

Lillian didn't shoot Pam a gloating look though she did feel a little smug inside. "While I might agree with you about human law, I'm not so sure I agree with your dislike of human traditions. Many of them are based off of survival," she said to join in on the conversation.

"Survival?" Eric repeated, looking at her. "We have survived for thousands of years apart from it. I never said I dislike it, I'm simply vampire, not human so it does not apply to me. And of course unions between markers and progenies are different, Bill. Pam just meant that she and I—"

"Besides her, you've never been close to any other woman you've come to love," Sookie said frankly, on purpose too, because Eric would never admit it. Lilly was the first one since Pam. "And you've been a lone wolf all this time…"

Eric's expression turned dark and sensitive at her assumptions. Then he said, "I've found few humans truly worthy."

"That's not what I meant, Eric," Lilly replied as she glanced up at him. "What I meant is that for humans it's been a matter of survival. Vampires might not have to rely on unions to survive, but humans need that connection. I do think the argument could be made that vampires do as well." But her words weren't entirely heard being that Eric had managed to get himself stuck in a trap.

"We do rely on unions," Pam answered pointedly. "It's just not sealed by some words and a certificate and the law sayin' it's so. It's sealed by _blood_. Eric and I are united by blood."

"Yes, Pam. You are my child," Eric said sharply to her, but in Swedish suddenly because the conversation was becoming too personal. "And Lillian is my lover, and I need no one else's approval."

Rather than let it get out of hand, Lillian shifted to the side so that her arm couldn't be seen and she lightly touched Eric's back, willing him not to get upset. It was the briefest of touches and no sooner had she done it, that she let her hand drop once more.

"You're right, Pam," she said instead of fueling the argument further, in English. "But two people have decided the words are worth it. Bill, Sookie, congratulations," she told the happy couple as she raised her glass in a small toast and then took a sip.

The others drank as well. Pam downed her whole glass. Eric calmed somewhat. The Bill kissed Sookie and said:

"And we will support whatever our friends decide to do in their lives just as you're supporting us," Bill said cheerfully. "Eric, we can't tell you enough how grateful we are that you're taking part in this. You're sheriff and therefore have much responsibility, but you've found time for us."

"We've gone through many ordeals," Eric said with only a faint note of hesitancy. "It…was the least I could do. Since you and Sookie have done much for me as well."

And Eric coolly slid his arm around Lilly. To Pam, he gave a quick, small fatherly look of tenderness. Pam accepted his wordless Sorry with another roll of her eyes as she uncrossed her arms.

The blonde bride grinned and glanced away to the other side of the room. "Well, I better see how our other guests are doing," she told them as she extracted herself from Bill's side. "Excuse me."

As she approached the human group, Marylin looked at Lillian over her shoulder again. Seeing her with Eric like that—as official as she was with Sam—had the old hurt rising. Perhaps after dinner she could pull her aside—before the night was over, she would find a way.

Sookie then distracted her as she asked how she and Sam were, and told them, Tara, Jason, and Jessica that dinner would start soon. And that would surely force the two groups to talk. Soon everyone would discover that their seating was already arranged for them, and perhaps they'd be sitting next to someone they never sat beside. It was Sookie's little plan for the hope of civility.

* * *

_In Shreveport…_

The old Chevelle approached 444 Industrial Drive and came to a cautious stop in the far corner of the parking lot, several spots away from the nearest customer's own vehicle. And there Bobby, Luke, and Joshua sat for a few minutes to devise their plan, how they would enter, and what they would do. Bobby planned to just ask around at fist, because he never began with guns blazing. He was a careful hunter, and only when the situation became dangerous was when he acted in defense of himself and those around him. The three sat looking out the windshield at the club and it's red glowing sign _Fangtasia._

Luke said vehemently: "We can scout the place for when he comes back."

"Hold your horses. First we ask around," said Bobby. "See what the patrons know about him...and if they'd seen Lilly. Depending on what answers we'll get, we'll decide what to do from there."

The only thing that made Joshua feel at all at ease with the situation was that he was certain Eric wasn't there. "So you both just want to walk in there and start asking questions?" he asked them almost skeptically as he looked at Bobby. "Don't you think we might cause a little bit of a stir?"

"We say we're just want a drink, and with a little money, we can go a long way," Bobby said certainly. "And they can't do nothing if we have these." Taking two little satchels out of his pocket and toss one to each boy.

"What is it?" asked Luke.

Joshua smelled it and said, "Vervain?"

Bobby nodded and opened his door. "Let's go, boys." Sure an old man would look weird at a club, but he was certain there were old men with some sort of fetish for vampires. Plus, they were hunters, and the brothers knew they had to follow his lead.

"Don't do nothing without my signal."

From the moment the three of them even stepped out of the car, they got looks, however, when all three held their heads high and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, the crowd in line slowly became accustomed to their presence and continued with their own conversations.

They stepped inside the club and the bass of music greeted their ears and hearts.

* * *

**This chapter turned out to be very long... But we hope you've enjoyed it. We'll try to update every week to two weeks**.

**- What's going to happen to Bobby and the boys? **

**- How will the dinner go and will they even make it there? **

**- Will Marylin get anything out of Lilly?**

**- And who was Evelyn talking about? Was it any obvious?  
**


	24. Can't Hardly Stand It

**New chapter! We promise you'll enjoy it! If you go to youtube after reading and look up this song, whose title is the chapter's title, you'll find how well it fits. We try to make all of our songs for chapters fit, but this one was particularly exciting to match. **

**Enjoy! And please review! We'd like to hear your thoughts!**

...

Well, the sun's gone down  
And you're uptown  
And you're just out runnin' around

I can't hardly stand it  
You're troublin' me  
I can't hardly stand  
It just can't be  
Well, you don't know, a-babe I love you so  
You got me all tore up, all tore up

~ Charlie Feathers

...

"Don't do nothing without my signal."

From the moment the three of them even stepped out of the car, they got looks. However, when all three held their heads high and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, the crowd in line slowly became accustomed to their presence and continued with their own conversations.

They stepped inside the club and the bass of music greeted their ears and hearts. It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the flashing strobes. Between the flashes they saw dancing bodies, sitting bodies, drinking bodies (some not from glasses, they couldn't really tell, actually). If not all of them were vampire, everyone was dressed so alike (gothic and scantily) that the threesome knew at once it would be difficult to distinguish them. They weren't noticed yet—perhaps because of how distracted all of the patrons were.

But the old man spotted the bar and, pointing to it, started to it at once. If Bobby was nervous, the Twins couldn't tell. They couldn't usually. The old man had his lips pressed, his baseball cap to cast a shadow over his eyes. They were narrowed determinedly. He started reaching at once for some cash. There was a gawky, skinny blonde woman behind the counter. It was Ginger.

When she saw them, she thought they were tourists who either didn't know where they walked into, or knew very well they were in a lion's den. She looked around cautiously, opening her mouth once or twice because she didn't know what to say at first when they stopped in front of her expectantly.

"Uh, can I help you?"

Bobby smiled through the shame and disgust he felt when he saw the bite marks on her flesh. Poor woman, then again, it was her choice to be there. "Just stopped for drink with my buddies," he said innocently enough for the kind of man he might've seemed to her. Just an old geezer.

Ginger looked with wide eyes to the Twins on either side of him. They were cute. Dark-haired and really tall—like Eric tall. Her sunken-in, mousy face filled with a little smile. She batted her fake eyelashes and leaned forward on the counter. She was obviously neither brother's type, but they forced smiles of their own.

"Well then what can I getcha?"

Luke glanced briefly at Bobby and Joshua. "Just a beer, thanks."

"Ginger," the woman quickly provided.

"Ginger," Joshua said with a small polite smile and a nod of his head. "A beer would be great."

The boy looked over at his brother and raised an eyebrow in question before turning to look over his shoulder at the rest of the bar. He could hardly picture Lillian frequenting the place, but after seeing Eric, he didn't have to work to hard to see his fingerprints over everything. The dark red décor—from the red vinyl cushions the chairs had, to the velvet couches for patrons who wanted a little more comfort. There were also secluded "booths" that put _Merlotte's_ to shame. They had their own curtains (red as well) that were heavy and hid everything that went on inside, from the outside. The throne on the empty stage, however, was vacant. That was Northman's perch without a doubt.

Ginger was back less than 30 seconds later with the two bottles for the boys, popped off the caps, and neatly placed in front of them. Her attempts at grace might have been amusing on another person, but her spindly form evoked more pity than anything else.

"So, what do you want?" she asked Bobby while still shooting a glance or two at the boys. "You want a beer too?"

The old man would've gotten the beer for show, but he shook his head in the negative. He didn't want her to step away again—there was always a chance for them to lose her. So he said, still speaking quite nonchalantly, "Maybe in a few, Ginger. Why you don't stay for a few and talk to us? Some company would be nice."

When the blonde's smile quivered, Luke quickly shot Bobby a look, and silently the old man told him to go along with it. So Luke grinned at Ginger with a dazzling grin of his and leaned forward on the counter.

"First time here for us. Heard it was _the_ spot to hang out around these parts. And we heard service was really good, too." He looked her up and down as if he wanted know what time she got out.

Ginger giggled—but not like a girl, like a woman who was coked out. She seemed habitually twitchy too, but she wasn't going anywhere now. She touched her hair to make sure it was perfect. "Geez, well, thank you. Guess it _is_ the spot. We got people comin' here from—from, uh, the whole country sometimes!"

"Mhm," Bobby said warily.

"Really?" Joshua asked, making sure to get in on the conversation. "So you get to talk to everyone I bet." He smiled at the waitress and it was more gentle than his brother's, more supporting. "Kind of wish we could have come sooner. Are all the people that come here...you know, vamps, or what?"

"Well, yeah." But the woman corrected herself. "Well, no. We get humans like yerselves comin' in pretty darn regularly. And I'm no a vampire. Bet you could tell." Although, she was almost as pale as them. "Oh…though I wish I was." She looked briefly to the ceiling. The three hunters guessed that was the reason she worked there.

Bobby asked her just that. "How long ya been here?"

"Just a little over a year," she said readily. The Twins had done well with relaxing her. Then she veered off topic. Her thin, lined brows were drawn suspiciously. She was trying hard to make the connection between them. "Say…you two look kinda similar—you two brothers or somethin'?"

Luke shared a look with Joshua, and, slapping down his palm on the counter, Luke laughed. Heartily too. Bobby had to elbow him so that he would simmer down. The music still played behind them, and most of the patrons were busy (dancing or feeding), but vampires had good hearing. Actually, there was one Bobby noticed who sat with them at the bar, several seats away from Joshua. A fat man—maybe Asian?—in a dark suit, dark hair. Like any other businessman. But pale. He sipped a _Tru Blood_.

"You'll never believe it, Ginger," Luke said. "We're not just brothers!"

"Unfortunately, this knucklehead is my twin," Joshua answered for his brother with a roll of his eyes. But the boys were working together seamlessly, just like they always did. Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw the vampire watching them, was careful not to tip him off.

"Who owns this place anyway?" he asked the waitress with a smile. "This place has to make a killing." His grin suggested that the pun was intentional.

Ginger leaned towards him and said very quietly. "Oh yeah, and you wouldn' believe the benefits we got. The master loves us a lot. I actually done stopped workin' here 'bout a month ago, and then I get a call a couple days ago an' he wants me back. He's been real busy this past week. There's like a weddin' somewhere and he's gonna be doin' something in it. I don't know what, but I heard it's a real big job. Well," Ginger giggled, "anythin' the master does is real big, him being sheriff an' all."

Now Bobby's eyes narrowed. "Sheriff," he repeated.

Ginger nodded eagerly. "You know—vampire sheriff. Of this area, which is…like 4 or 5. Or maybe 6, I don't remember. I always forget. Good thing he ain't here right now. I should know what area he sheriffs in."

Bobby was very careful now. "What was his name again?" Even though she never gave it.

Ginger leaned off the counter when she saw the fat vampire flagging her down. "Eric Northman," she said quickly and they had to let her go to get whatever the vampire wanted. The threesome looked at each other.

"Who's a vampire sheriff," Bobby repeated, and let his dark displeasure show. In a dry, flat voice he said to the twins: "Neither of you told me that."

They didn't need to discuss this here, and though Bobby might have been starting to get upset, all three of them knew it.

"We didn't exactly have a lot of time to talk it all over," Joshua reminded him under his breath. Normally, he wouldn't have been so impertinent to Bobby, but Joshua's own annoyance had been rising. "Let's just do what we need to and go."

"I wanna find who's in charge while "the master" ain't here," Bobby said, and he put down a twenty to pay for the boys' drinks. He watched Ginger get another bottle of _Tru Blood_ to the fat vampire. He said something quiet to her, smiled. Then he took a sip of the red liquid and watched the three hunters all the while, as if he knew what they were. Bobby waved at the woman.

"Ginger, just one more thing." He smiled warmly enough. She returned to them expectantly and took the twenty. "Did Eric Northman leave _you _charge?"

Ginger laughed and pointed to herself in shock. "Me? Oh, Gosh," she laughed. "No, no. Well, I _am_ the only bartender tonight, if that's what you were meanin'."

"How can Mr. Northman run the club if he isn't here?" Bobby inquired. And now Ginger narrowed her eyes, took a step back. "Is someone else in charge?"

"Why you fixin' to know?"

"Just thought the place runs on its own while he's gone. Do you know of a Lillian King that might frequent his establishment?"

Now Ginger's eyes fully narrowed, but her curiosity overcame her. "Yeah, she comes here. She's the boss's girl, but how do you know her?" There was a little bit of hysteria in her voice as her eyes danced between the three of them. "Why you askin' all the questions anyway?"

Seeing that they were pressing their luck, Joshua quickly shared a look with his brother and smiled. "She's a friend of ours and we heard she was in these parts so we wanted to see if she might be here."

Ginger had something akin to bitterness come over her, or jealousy. She took out a shot glass to pour herself a shot and tossed it back. Wincing she said, "Well she's here like every day. Or the boss goes out himself."

Bobby narrowed his eyes. "To see her," he concluded.

"That's what we're all thinkin'," she said. "We reckoned it wouldn't last so long… But now…some of us are saying he'll end up makin' her."

Luke choked on a sip of beer. "_What_?"

"You know, when they _make others._ Turn 'em. Change them. Make them vampires just like themselves. Some of us have been waiting for longer, but no, they don't like it when we ask. They gotta offer it themselves. And they gotta really like you, too. Your friend—Lillian. Yeah, well, he really likes her." Ginger then took another shot. "Shit, he probably lo—"

She was interrupted as Bobby's chair squeaked and he stood up.

"Thank you, Ginger. That's all we need to know. Let's keep this between ourselves, though." And he put two twenties before her. Her eyes darted from side to side cautiously. Then she snatched the money like a beggar. Luke downed his entire beer in one breath, then wiped his mouth roughly.

Seeing the expression on his brother's face, the pure anger, Joshua stood up as well and moved towards him. "Come on, man, let's head out."

He looked over at Bobby, but his eyes slipped off to another vampire that was sitting at the bar. More patrons had started watching them too. Though Ginger had tried to quickly snatch the money from the bar, she hadn't exactly been sneaky about it. It didn't help that the other vampires had heard their conversation and were now suspicious. With Luke leading the way, he followed his brother outside with Bobby in tow. Unfortunately, he knew that as soon as they would get in the car and closed the doors, Bobby was going to blow.

"Son of a bitch—that motherfucker—God_damn _it, Josh. We should've—we should've—" Luke was saying with fists clenched. They shoved passed the bouncer line. Bobby silently fended off hisses of patrons behind them. If they had stayed longer, there surely would've been trouble.

The old man said not one single word as he trudged after them to the car. However, he gasped when he heard a sudden gust of wind behind them, and then the yelps of the boys. A black blur rammed them into the wall of the building, five meters from the entrance, and Bobby took out his gun just as the assailant snarled and bore his fangs.

They had stayed too long.

It was the fat vampire who had been sitting near them. He spoke with a light Asian accent. The twins gasped for breaths, grasping at the hands that held their throats. The quickly turned blue.

"Did you have to leave so fast? I was trying to decide which one of you to have first," Chow asked the boys. Then he glared at Bobby. "Put the gun down, old man, or you'll be mopping them up from the asphalt."

Bobby lowered his gun but not all the way. He took a small step towards them, sneering. "You Northman's chum? Never would've suspected."

"That's why he hired me, and that's why he left _me_ in charge. You should've found me first before you decided to interrogate Ginger. She can't really keep secrets."

"We were just asking questions," Bobby barked.

"That's what all hunters say," Chow said. When he saw the looks of surprise from the three of them, he added, "We could smell it in your sweat."

"If you can smell it in ours," Joshua managed to gasp out, "then I'm sure you can smell it in Lillian. Th-think-" his words were cut off briefly as Chow closed the fist on his throat a little further. "Think she'll be happy about this? What y'r do'n?" It was difficult to speak.

Chow's eyes narrowed on him. He rarely had dealings with Lillian.

"How do you know her?" he demanded, glaring first at Joshua and then at Luke. Bobby was on the edge of his vision, but he wasn't altogether concerned with the old man.

Luke grimaced. Attempting to pry the vampire's hand from his neck was futile, so the boy lowered it, and one hand slipped into his jacket pocket, dug around.

"She's _our_ girl," he was saying to Chow, and saw how the vampire raised an eyebrow. "We've—we're been huntin' for years together."

Bobby took another step towards them. The line behind them at the door vanished by this point. No one stayed to watch from fear of being collateral damage. The door was shut. They were the only ones in the parking lot, alit by the street lamp they were near and the moon that was diffused through clouds.

"I got silver bullets here, buddy," Bobby said, his gun still raised.

"And I got fangs here, _old man_," Chow snarled. And his fangs lengthened and he neared them to Joshua's neck. Bobby hesitated, his eyes wide, his heart plunging. "Ooh, I can hear the little rhythm…" Chow said as he heard Joshua's own heart. "Like a little hummingbird, so fast…"

"You don't want to piss of Northman." The twins saw how Bobby was beginning to shake inside. But his voice was low and gruff. "When Lillian finds out—"

"Eric would do this himself, and he has ways of not having Lillian find out things," Chow interrupted loudly. "You think just because he's fucking her he all of a sudden _loves_ your kind? Grandpa, you're sorely mistaken. Why, just a few weeks ago, Eric nearly killed an amateur north of here. He was trying to stake a bunch of newborns. We couldn't have that now."

Bobby took another step. Chow tightened his grips on both boys. Luke fumbled in his pocket. "And you think I got reservations about shooting you pointblank?" Bobby questioned. He was about to shoot—Goddammit, he couldn't do anything else. But Chow grinned and was ready to bite a piece off Josh's neck.

Then Luke shouted suddenly. "Hey, Jackie Chan!" A little satchel was in his hand. Chow lifted his face to look.

As the vervain went through the air, he watched it, confused with why the hunter would even think such a small thing like a leather satchel could save him. It wasn't until the satchel hit his face and powder exploded that he realized. The vampire reared back, releasing both boys at the same time and his hands flying to his face. He cried and his eyes watered with blood and he couldn't see anything. It burned like the sun and allergies combined.

Joshua, who bent over slightly with one hand on his neck, in a choking voice yelled for them to get to the car. The vervain would only hold Chow off for so long, and once he was ready to go after them again, he wouldn't be as gentle as he was before. The three of them dove into the car and didn't bother to wait for the doors to be completely shut before Joshua revved the engine to life and peeled out of the parking lot, letting the force of the motion shut the doors for them.

"Dammit! I knew we shouldn't have gone there! I told you! Even though Northman wasn't there we still shouldn't have gone!"

"If we didn't go, we wouldn't have found out what we just did!" Luke yelled hoarsely. "What a son of a bitch. And we know where he is now. We know, don't we, Josh? At the dinner. We can go straight there."

"No," Bobby said firmly. "We ain't going nowhere else. This can all blow up in our faces. It almost did just back there." Joshua looked relieved, but then the old man added: "It was a close call, but we got what we wanted to know. If Lillian's bein' glamoured, this has gotta go as stealthily as we can make it. And after all, there's a vampire wedding going on. We're going to be outnumbered. Drive back to the hotel, Joshua, we'll figure out what to do there."

The streetlights lit their beat faces as they spend up back onto the highway towards Bon Temps.

"Luke, good work with the vervain."

"Bobby, I wouldn'a thought to bring it! That was good thinking!" Luke grinned as he looked back at him. He was in pain from his neck and the bruise there but he grinned right through it. Things like what had just happened exhilarated him. That's why he loved hunting. The adrenalin lasted well after and numbed the beatings. "Shit, did you see the vamp burn? Did you even still have yours, Josh?" he asked his brother.

But Joshua just nodded his head and grit his teeth. Something was missing. He couldn't see Lillian allow herself to be glamoured into a relationship with someone and even if she was, it seemed like a lot of work on Northman's part just to keep a mere human.

"I think we should talk to Lil about this. I don't think it's right to just go at this half-cocked," he told them both, the disapproval clear on his face.

"Maybe one of you should go to the dinner. I don't think it's too late, is it?" Bobby looked at his old wristwatch—it said 11:30. The vampires got up right when the sun set around 7. "Joshua, you go. You were invited."

"Hey, so was I. I'll go too," Luke voiced. "I'm not going to let my brother go alone into that nest."

"Luke, you're going to blow our cover," the old man said frankly to him.

"Am not! And I'm willing to bet that that fat ass already texted Northman to tell him what happened. So when Josh comes in, he's gonna be all alone if the fang decides to pull the same shit, or something worse. Hell, and the others could cheer him on."

Bobby firmly reiterated: "If he doesn't, you're just going to be talking to Lillian. You get to her first."

"Luke will be fine," Joshua told Bobby, so lost in his own head not to realize he was basically talking back, something he never did. But Luke was his brother. Joshua was more than confident in him, and would have no one else at his back. He just hoped Luke played it cool. "Bobby, we'll drop you off and head over there." And he hoped their sudden appearance wouldn't ruin the happy wedding atmosphere for the bride and groom.

"And you call me if something goes down," Bobby said urgently. "What's the location?"

"Bill Compton's house. Across from the cemetery."

* * *

The seating arrangement in the newly renovated dining room was close to this: vampire, then human, then vampire. And both parties had to swallow absolutely every bout of nervousness, apprehension, discomfort, or even annoyance that might've risen in each individual. Bill and Sookie smiled and watched everyone settle and regard their neighbor—it had been an idea they both shared, and did on purpose. They sat at the head of the large, round mahogany table, directly across the entrance with their hands intertwined between them. Ultimately, it was a sort of test. The people gathered were supposed to be their friends and support, after all.

On Sookie's other side sat Jessica. Because neither the Twins nor Mr. Singer were present, empty plates and chairs were removed so Jason scooted towards the baby vampire. On his other side was Pam, then Sam and Marylin—who sat next to none other than Eric. When the two discovered they were sitting next to each other, Marylin had to suppress her nerves, while the sheriff his dislike, although it was lightened as he listened with amusement to the heart of the mighty hunter. Neither looked at each other. Lilly was beside her boyfriend, and Tara next to her, which made Tara by Bill.

Before any conversation was allowed to start—or any complaints for the matter—drinks were served by two servers that had been hired for the evening. They poured more champagne and wine and something that looked like sparkling blood, and brought out fresh, hot bread and various kinds of swirled butters. Jason took a couple pieces right away, and so did Sam who thought it would nullify some of his own bit of wariness. Actually, he masked it pretty well and even forced a slight smile to Pam—she was next to him after all. However, she just pouted her thick red lips and took her sparkling blood.

Lillian reached forward and picked up her glass to take a tentative sip, which turned into an appreciative one. She was glad that Marylin hadn't been placed right next to her, but was also unsure about placing her right next to Eric. She knew it wasn't like Marylin would try anything, but there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell that her friend would be able to relax and enjoy the meal now.

However, as Eric felt a vibration in his pocket to signal a received text message, the vampire discovered he wouldn't be given a chance appreciate the dinner either. Lilly watched out of the corner of her eye as he read it discretely and his face slowly fell. He stared at the little screen and paid no attention to the hosts.

_Serious situation at Fangtasia. Attacked by unwanted guests-hunters. I think you need to come. – Chow._

"Our dinner was prepared by Chef Dubois," Bill was saying, smiling at the middle aged black man who had come out in his chef's hat from the kitchen. The man had his hands clasped in front of him and he seemed to have no fear at all with the vampires in the room. He had a humble smile on his freckled dark face. "His creations are absolutely superb, and Sookie and I believe you'll agree once you try them yourselves. Chef?"

And the Chef took a step forward, cleared his throat, and in a French accent began: "Asze horsd'oeuvres, we will be serving you a choice of baked onion soup with melted Gruyere cheese… And also a salad calledLa Bergerie. It iz a farmer's salad with carmalizes walnuts—"

In that moment, Eric looked past Lilly to Pam, flashed her a look that lasted not more than a second, and she knew at once something had come up. Lilly had no time to question what was wrong as the sheriff rose and cut off the Frenchman and his descriptions.

"Excuse me. Bill, Sookie," the sheriff looked like he was restraining himself and spoke in a grave tone. "I just received word that I need to go—something came up at Fangtasia."

Lillian's brows furrowed as she looked up at him. To many he would look calm, but the stance and the anger visible in his eyes told her otherwise.

"Surely everything's okay?" Sookie asked, looking first at Eric and then at Bill. "What's happened?"

"Just some urgent sheriff business. But nothing I can't take care of. I'm always on call," Eric explained with what could be interpreted as light joking. "I will be back." And he smiled at the rest of those who were at the table, just so they could ease their looks of apprehension as they stared at him as if he'd just announced a war. It worked only a little. "Enjoy your dinner. I'm sure will be as great as our bride and groom have promised..." He stepped around his chair, didn't even look at Lilly, which she knew was a bad sign.

Bill regarded the sheriff with a look of confusion that mirrored the others', but rather than question, he nodded. "Very well. You will call if you need something?"

"Sure, but I'll be able to take care of it. I'm not going to ruin your celebrating." Eric saw Pam standing as he stared towards the exit.

Sookie looked peeved with her delicate eyebrows narrowed slightly, but she said, "We'll be having tea and cake in the sunroom. You're not goin' to miss the whole night, are you?" He was sort of Bill's second best man, after all.

"I'll try not to." And finally Eric gave Lilly an expressionless glance and then left the room. Pam swiftly followed after him and to her asking what happened, in Swedish he sternly replied, "Hunters. But you will stay. I need you here."

"But Eric—" she began.

He vanished in a blur that left Sam swallowing and sinking slightly in his chair, and Lilly irrupting with goosebumps. She had understood what was said. She ignored the others and headed around the table to Pam.

"What did he mean by hunters?" she asked quietly her gaze locked on the other blonde's.

Pam's own annoyance raged within her, the desire to go after her maker, and yet to do as he said was clearly being fought. "You got that, hm? He said it would be fine. Now how about you go be a good little puppet and keep drinking that berry punch. He always did have a thing for cherries."

The vampire didn't spare her another glance before leaving Lilly standing there as she went in the direction of the bathroom. "Don't mind me," she called over her shoulder. "Just need to...liven up."

The Chef forced a smiled and looked to Bill for the OK to continue. Bill sighed and Sookie clenched his hand a little tighter without smiling, and her fiancé nodded.

The Chef grinned and took in a breath, looking at who remained. "Alright—so, where we were? Yes, we have ze duck foie gras with lemon confit and Asian spice bread..."

Jason's mouth watered. He _mm-mm_'d and said to Jessica who had been as silent as Tara the entire while: "Oh that sounds real good, don't it?"

Jessica merely forced a smile and wondered if she and the remaining vampires would get to eat anything. Luckily, then the Chef described a delicious cream blood soup that got her own taste buds going.

Meanwhile, Marylin watched out of the corner of her eye as Lilly slowly returned to her seat with a look so upset that Marylin's disturbed suspicion only grew. She didn't know what happened just a second ago, the exchange between her, Eric, and Pam. Marylin didn't know what to make of it, but she didn't like it one bit. And as Lilly looked up and met her eyes across the table, Marylin gave a stare so blank Lilly almost left the table too.

Sam just waited for the first course to hurry up and get there so he could calm his thoughts. If it _was_ Mr. Singer Eric had gotten word of—if Mr. Singer had actually gone, had done something while at _Fangtasia_, maybe the Twins as well... Maybe _that's_ why they weren't there at the party? Shit, they were screwed.

Sam breathed out slowly and felt a bit of sweat at his temple. Sookie saw him and mentally wanted to ask what was _his_ problem now. He didn't look at her, however, on purpose. In fact, no one looked at one another as crickets began to chirp.

"Well, isn't this just fan-tastic," Sookie said with an almost caustic tone.

Bill looked at his fiancée with a furrowed brow and an apologetic smile. "Let's just get the food served, shall we? Thank you, Chef Dubois."

"This is gonna be good," Tara sung for the sake of her best friend. "Everyone gonna feel better with some food in 'em. Sookie, I'm sure we're gonna be on the floor after all this—you watch, girl." Sookie smiled small to her friend's grinning attempt.

Bill said, "That's in fact the plan we had, Tara."

The Chef nodded and the servers came in to save the night with the aforementioned dishes. Bill's sentiment was met heartily by all, and most around the table resituated themselves for the serving of the food. Lillian kept her eyes averted from Marylin's. After the last look she'd gotten, she didn't want another.

* * *

With his nose in the air and his puffy white tail lifted high above him, Zeus padded after Evelyn as she headed into the kitchen, knowing exactly what that meant. And if the human decided to derail his plans, he already planned how to put up a sufficient amount of fuss to get what he wanted. Humans were trainable if a cat was patient and strong. Purring, he began making a nuisance of himself as he wound his way around her legs.

"Oh for cryin' out loud, Zeus, I just walked in the door. You can wait five minutes for dinner."

Evelyn placed the box of leftovers onto the counter and stepped out of her heels, before finally heading over to the cat dish.

"You are too spoiled for your own good, I think," she informed him as she knelt down to fill it. "I brought you some chicken, though..."

The woman headed back over to the counter and took out a cold breast of cooked chicken, which she began to dice up so that she could sprinkle it over his dry food.

Deciding to be cheeky, and quite impatient, Zeus leapt onto the marble and gave a strong, imploring meow, which had the woman chuckling. The Persian butted her hand, pink tongue catching a piece of the chicken and narrowly missing the knife. Then he went straight for the rest of the breast, appetite so great that he would be perfectly pleased with the entire thing.

"Zeus!" she yelled through her laugh as she quickly moved the knife out of the way. "You're not goin' to get any if you don't wait." And she picked the fluffy cat up with one arm and held him to her chest. "You'll get the chicken in two minutes."

After scratching him beneath his chin, she was rewarded with closed eyes and a long purr, and she set him on the ground before continuing her cutting. True to her word, Zeus' meal was complete less than two minutes later, and so she led him over to his "table" which was made up of a wooden serving tray on foldable legs. It kept the ants away.

The woman tenderly stroked her cat while he ate, enjoying for a moment more of his fond cooing. Then she returned to the kitchen for her own dinner of steaming leftovers, and settled in one of the bar stools of her counter, overlooking the silence of the rest of her flat. Dimly lit, the place was as still as it always was, the moon casting streaks across the floor, with the faint noise of the street outside heard in the background. It was only her and Zeus there tonight, as it had been for a long while.

Evelyn let out a breath.

"I think you'd like her," she said softly after a bite of her food, as if to no one. She smiled slightly and thought about the party from earlier that day. "She's sweet and always believes in the goodness of others first." After taking a sip from her glass of red wine, she wiped her mouth with a napkin and ran a hand back through her hair to let it out of her clip.

"Sookie is the type of girl that anyone could be proud of. I just…I worry a little bit about her. I know I shouldn', but I see so many cases of people coming into the hospital from blood loss that I just… Well, I have a difficult time acceptin' vampires."

Giving a purring lilt, Zeus glanced back at her with a look that seemed to say, "_So do most people._"

"Eat your dinner, Zeus. No more ants in the apartment, remember?" she told the cat before resuming her thoughts. "I _am_ happy that she found someone, though. And I know her grandmother would be happy to see her so happy. Bill will take care of her, but… Oh, Castiel, I wish you could watch over her." Now Evelyn set her fork down and momentarily braced her forehead in her hands. "With her grandmother gone, I worry about her."

"_You worry too much, Evee_," murmured Zeus, chewing with his mouth open.

With a sigh, Evelyn shook away her worries and stood up to take her still fairly full plate to the sink. She didn't eat that much lately and, now to prove that, scraped the food into the garbage disposal before rinsing the dish and slipping it into the washer. Sighing again, she then meandered out of the kitchen to go to her room. Finished with his own food, Zeus hurriedly followed her and swatted at her feet as if in chiding. He always told her to eat better, but she never seemed to listen to him.

Once in the room, Evelyn took out her earrings and placed them in the small glass dish on her dresser, and once again ran her hand through her hair, going to the bathroom.

"Do you ever find yourself graspin' for something?" she started aloud again, trying to ignore the small voice in the back of her head that told her she was losing it for talking to herself. "Today at the party…there was something about two women that were there."

She undid the clasp on her skirt and stepped out of it before carefully placing it on a hanger and draping it over a nearby chair.

"I know that I've never met them, but there was something…something there like I should have known them. I think I might be losing it, Castiel. I really think I might be this time."

No answer came, of course, but Zeus rubbed himself against her legs, giving her pleasant shivers, which helped give way to thoughts she shouldn't have been having. About the man she was so earnestly calling out to. The realization of that made her freeze, and only after a moment to collect herself was she able to continue. After slipping out of her blouse and hanging all of her clothes in the closet, she quickly pulled on her nightgown and began brushing her hair.

It was wrong of her to think about him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly, and set her brush back onto the granite countertop.

Evelyn knew her thoughts and words betrayed her, but she couldn't help it, and as she stood there in front of the mirror, all of the barriers of confidence and calm that she carefully held in place came away, revealing how she truly felt. A modest 32-year-old woman who was longing for something she couldn't have. Zeus leapt up and gave a chiding look. She couldn't help but apologize again as she frowned and stroked his soft fur, knowing her cat was the only man in her life. The one her mind continued to return to she could not have.

As she raised her eyes to look at herself in the mirror again, to firmly tell her exactly this, for an instant she thought saw another's gaze lock on her own. A blue gaze that was so serious, so familiar, surrounded by wariness and dark eyebrows. But as Evelyn spun round, she saw that no one was there.

"Castiel?"

She left the bathroom, looked around her room, past the bed and dresser and desk, to the window, but if she had in fact seen someone, he was long gone.

* * *

Chow had closed _Fangtasia_ immediately after the attack with the hunters. When Eric arrived, he found his associate sitting in pain on one of the red vinyl chairs with Ginger trying to tend to him. When she had asked how she could help him, the Asian vampire just grabbed her by the wrist and said, "This way!" and drove his fangs into her skin. She screamed just as their boss showed up.

Chow looked up with a wound riddled face and blood dripping down his chin.

"Did the hunters set bees on you?" Eric asked, because that's what it looked like—bee stings, swollen and blistered. As he approached closer, he couldn't help but whistle in astonishment, and winced for Chow. "Or did they breathe silver on you?"

"It wasn't silver," Chow said with a grimace. "Vervain."

Ginger quivered from the grasp on her wrist, but neither of the vampires gave her any notice.

Eric went silent. Chow turned his face this way and that to show him the extent of the damage. Chow's eyes were red, he spoke with a small lisp. His sheriff overcame with a loathing that clenched his fists. In a low voice he asked:

"And you let them get away?"

"Sir, I had the..." Chow's excuse died on his lips. Nothing he could say could cool Eric's anger, and he knew it. "Yes, sir."

The sheriff looked like would pummel him across the room, and he would've—and Eric was much stronger than him so it would be easy—however Eric just snarled and then said, in the same way he always gave his orders: "Clean yourself up, heal. But get someone else. Ginger's too used up by now. We won't have a decent bartender if you end up draining her." Chow stiffly released the junkie. Then Eric said to her, "Ginger, who's left?"

"J-just Janis," she stuttered, holding her bloody wrist to her chest.

"Go and fetch her for Chow then. But don't drain her either, Chow. I'm going to go send word out through the appropriate channels. If we don't find the hunters, other vampires will. We'll be able to stop them before they cross state lines. And…we _will_ drain _them._"

Eric started to his office. Chow saw the steam billowing after the Viking.

"Sir," Chow said quickly as he took a hesitant step after him. "The hunters...we know who they are."

Eric turned half way. "Who?" he asked cautiously.

"They were asking for Ms. King, sir. Said they knew her. Three men, one an old guy. The two younger were twins."

The sheriff's face fell. "Twins," he repeated.

Chow nodded. "Tall ones. They stuck out like sore thumbs. If they would've stayed longer, we could've taken care of them in here"

"No," Eric interrupted sharply.

He looked past his chum now as if the curtain Eric never knew was there—or perhaps he had disregarded it before—lifted. Or perhaps the sensation was a steady, heavy feeling somewhat like…duplicity. Like there was an act of deceit on him. And boy, was he surprised at how strong it was, too. All this while, he had been restraining his very profound hate for hunters for _Lilly_—he had suppressed the knowledge that she was one too. Rather, he just forced himself to disregard it completely. And he had. But of course it would break out of the benefit of the doubt he'd cast. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew it would've sooner or later.

Joshua had shaken hands with him. There had even been a possibility, when Lilly had hinted on it, of Eric meeting Bobby. Eric didn't want to obviously. He would've said no if she asked. But there had been that possibility. And now this happened. He scoffed angrily.

"Boss?" Chow said.

Eric slowly looked back to him. "I'll find them myself."

The underling nodded, watching him with a hint of uncertainty. He didn't envy the hunters that had come to the club that night. Chow knew very well, that come dawn, they would wish they didn't even know what a vampire was, or so he assumed.

All Eric said before he left was, "Pam and I will return before sunrise."

* * *

Most of the dinner party didn't know how to pronounce the names of what they were eating, but their mouths were watering enough that they didn't care, and they were feeling better by now with fuller stomachs. The conversation was small. Actually, it was none-existent, but the silence while they ate wasn't too bad. As they were finishing their entrees, Tara picked up her wine glass and cleared her throat.

"'Scuse me. I'd like…to make a toast to the soon-to-be bride and groom." She stood and looked down at Bill and Sookie. They smiled at her. Tara wanted to get the dinner back on track to what they were all gathered there in the first place. She gazed lovingly at her best friend.

"Sook, we've known each other since we were li'l girls, since before we even started likin' boys." That made Sookie smirk. "You're like the sister I neva had. I love you like my sister and even though you're gonna be married soon and playin' wife and all, you're still gonna be my sisterm and I don't you want you forgettin'." When Sookie spotted that her best friend's eyes even began to glistened, she beckoned her over to her and took her hand.

"Tara, I love you too," she said. Bill grinned at the both of them.

Tara nodded and said, "I always knew you was gonna be gettin' married before me. And I think once I even said I'd be your maid of honor. And…here I am."

"I don't remember that…" Sookie said.

Tara laughed slightly. "It was between playing cowboys and Indians with Jason."

The said man _huh_'d, definitely not remembering.

"You had to break me and Jason apart when I got mad at him for pretending to shoot me. He was playing sheriff and you and I were Indians."

"I do remember that," now Jason said.

Tara sighed and squeezed her friend's hand. "What I'm tryin' to say, Sook, is that you are the best friend every one wishes for. You always got my back, and you always got me out of trouble. You helped calm me down when I had to run away from family shit that was goin' on at the time."

Sookie chuckled with her own tears in her eyes. "Tara…you don't need to thank me. That's what friends are for."

"Yes, I do," Tara argued. "I do. I wanna tell you how much ya mean to me, and how happy I am that I'm gonna stand there next to you at the altar. Bill Compton, you better treat ma girl right, you hear?" She turned to the vampire, serious at first, then joking.

"I will, Tara. I swear upon it," said Bill somberly.

"And I promise, Tara, that I'll always be next to _you_, even when your big day comes." Sookie stood and the two girls embraced tenderly with Tara laughing in disbelief.

"I don't think that'll happen any time soon, Sook."

At the end of the table, Pam rolled her eyes and muttered, "How sweet."

Then Sam stood to say his own few words, holding his glass. "Sookie, I'll always be there too, if ya ever need me."

Sookie let Tara go and smiled at him. "Thank you, Sam."

Sam smiled bashfully, tried to articulate his thoughts of sentiment. "Me and every one else at _Merlotte's_ always love havin' you at the bar. But if once you tie the knot, you decide to stop workin', just…promise you'll stop every once in a while to say hi."

"Sam!" Sookie laughed. "It's not like I'm moving to another planet. I'm not even going to move out of Bon Temps, and I don't think I'll be quittin' my job any time soon. I love it there just as much! So don't you be thinkin' of giving it away to anyone!"

Sam's smile was a little forced as he looked down briefly, but only because he didn't like speaking out so publicly to everyone. "Don't worry about that happenin' any time soon."

Jason stood and it looked as if a little tear got stuck in his eye. Also not looking square at everyone's faces, he said: "Baby sis, I know you're gonna be livin' here…but you best be coming Gran's house every few days or so." Jason was moving in there, selling their parents' house.

Sookie gave him a bemused look. "Who's gonna cook for you if I don't?" she asked. But then she added as if cross: "And clean."

Jason turned bashful. "Sook, I can do all that. I ain't gonna make _you_ do it!"

Tara _mm-hm_'d. Sookie's face broke into a smile and she said, "Jason, it's okay. I love you."

"I love you, too, Sookie. I ain't gonna love another woman more. You treat her right, Bill," Jason said because he had to, and Bill nodded curtly with a bit of emotion on his expression too. He and Sookie went back to holding each other's hands.

And now Marylin stood. She looked uncertain at first, but because Lillian was silent, Marylin realized that she couldn't be as well. She had to say something too. So she smiled warmly. She did care about Sookie, after all. The entire table watched the hunter in a mixture of small shock and curiosity. Marylin glanced down at her plate for a beat, then looked up and held the couple's gazes steadily. She tucked a lock of dark hair that went in front of her face then clasped her hands in front of her and began:

"Sookie, I just…wanted to say that if you—well, if either you _or_ Bill need my help in the…supernatural department. Anything at all. Call me. I promise I'll be there."

To her solemn promise, Bill said, "Thank you, Marylin. However, if we find that you are in the middle of something far worse than whatever is going on here, I don't think we could ask you to stop it and rush here. You won't be able to."

He was right and grinned a little. Marylin chuckled slightly. Sheepishly, she said: "Then I will do my best to guide you through the phone."

The table laughed.

Sam tried to smile too but his face fell slightly. When Marylin saw out of the corner of her eye, she quickly amended and touched the back of his shoulder. "But I don't think I'll be leaving any time soon, so I might not have to rush away from anything."

The near finality in her tone had Lillian's eyes widening. She knew it had always been a possibility, but it was certainly a shocking thing to behold. One by one, pairs of eyes turned her way, and so with a warm smile of her own, the blonde hunter stood.

"Sookie, Bill," she started, looking at both in turn. "I've come to know you both during this short time and it's very easy for me to tell you that I am better because of it." The woman licked her lips while she weighed her next words carefully. "You've given me some—"

Lillian's words were interrupted by front door opening and two familiar boys walking in, calling out, "Hello?" Joshua turned when he heard her voice, and seeing them gathered around the table, he quickly entered the room.

"Sorry we're late," he said, trying to seem calm, though it was obvious he was anything but. When his eyes went to the empty seat beside Lillian, he paled several shades, and his heartbeat did indeed sound like a humming bird.

Jessica lit up more than she expected, and she could hear his heart.

Pam lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes so deadly that it appeared like she'd leap on him and tear his throat any second—that's what Luke thought, anyway. He never met her but he knew she was a vampire. He slowed to a stop at the dinning room's doorway and swallowed, bringing a hand behind his head.

"Listen, we're really sorry. We just hand some, uh, some stuff to take care of. Bobby's got an ulcer back at the motel, so he won't be coming. Did we miss a lot?"

"Nearly the entire dinner," Sookie said. There was some annoyance in her usual sweetness. Bon Temps would never be perfect, would it? "But at least you guys haven't missed desert. We're glad you could come…" She forgot his name.

"Luke," he answered with a crooked grin. "That's Joshua." He pointed to his brother and for once didn't make fun of him. "Nice meeting you all."

Bill's face faltered slightly but he gestured to the empty chairs. "Please have a seat. I will call the waiters."

As the twins went to the seats, Marylin whispered disbelievingly to Luke, "Ulcer?"

All Luke said was, "Tell you later," and took Eric's empty seat. Sam breathed somewhat in relief.

"What's going on?" Lillian quickly whispered to Luke as she watched Joshua take a seat beside Jessica. "Josh looks like...well, he's as white as a sheet?" She had a sinking feeling forming a pit in her stomach. Surely they wouldn't have anything to do with Eric's disappearance.

Joshua smiled weakly at Jessica, though his gaze kept flicking back to the entrance of the home. "Hi," he said almost meekly.

Jessica blushed with a coy grin and said, "Hey." She felt Joshua's eyes linger on her and wondered if he thought her pretty.

Sookie whispered something to Bill, he nodded, and as the servers came in with new plates of food, he said to them: "How about we have the two gentlemen join us in the sunroom with their dinner."

They said, "Very well, sir," and started back out of the room. And Bill and Sookie stood and told everyone to join them in the sunroom for desert. There was a table there as well, and that way everyone who was already finished eating wouldn't have to wait for the later arrivers.

As the guests followed them through the hallway and through the rest of first floor, Luke saw how beautiful Lillian looked in her blue dress and stared at her a little longer than necessary. Because vampires could hear a mile away, the twins kept their mouths shut about what had happened to them and Bobby. They couldn't tell Lilly and Marylin there. However, Sam wasn't able to hold what he knew any longer and tried pulling her aside and waiting until those behind them passed ahead.

"Marylin, I needa tell you somethin' quick," he said. Marylin took several steps with him.

"What is it?" she asked.

Then he saw Pam looking at them and quickly said, "Never mind. I'll tell you later."

Once everyone gathered in the sunroom, where a chandelier and soft candlelight glowed just as romantically as the rest of the house, and deserts of cakes and cookies were arranged by the servers with tea (for vampires, there was a delicious looking gelato with small mint leaves on top; a human could've mistaken it for deep berry ice cream), Lilly gave Luke one last concerned look and stepped to her seat at the table and waited for the others to sit before continuing.

"Now that we're again settled, I'll make this short. Bill and Sookie, I respect you so much. You know what you both want and through love and understanding are making it work. If a couple finds that they have even half the amount of affection for each other that you do, then they should consider themselves lucky. Congratulations to you both."

The blonde lifted her glass in salute and waited for the others to do so as well before taking a sip and sitting back down.

Then it was Sookie's turn to stand. "Thank you all so much for the well wishes. Bill and I do so much appreciate you all bein' here. We couldn't have had a better bunch of people. But the desert is waitin' so let's dig right in!"

For the following ten-fifteen minutes or so, all that sounded were a series of _mm_'s and sighs of sated bellies and sweet comas. Jessica had one of the extra helpings of the blood gelato. Pam ate only a spoon of hers and because Eric was there, ate no more. She looked through the screen windows of the room as if he would show up any minute. But he didn't. And with each passing minute, she didn't want to be there alone more and more. The others ignored her and she was glad.

Jason suddenly announced that he was thinking of entering the police academy. "Mare'lin actually suggested it," he was saying, glancing at Marylin who gave a small smile. "And I thought, you know, that sounded like a good idea. All I needa do is take a written test, and go through other phys'cal tests, and I'm all set."

"Jason I think it would be great for you," his sister praised.

"Yeah imagine him partnering up with Andy," said Tara, laughing. "Watch Jason becomes sheriff."

"I think Bon Temps would be lucky to have you, Jason," Lilly told him with a smile.

"So y'all approve?" he asked, looking at each of them, grinning.

"We do," said Bill, clasping his shoulder. "Very good idea. I believe Bon Temps needs a few fresh changes. I actually plan to donate some money to the Retirement Center. Recently I've found out that some of my family members had stayed there in the last years of their lives…and I may be heading some of the reconstruction of the building."

"You didn't tell me," said Sookie, surprised.

"I had gotten a call a few hours ago and planned to tell you, but we got caught up with the dinner preparations," Bill explained gently.

As the conversation went on, with the others just listening, Luke, finished with his dinner and taking one last drink of his wine, turned to Lilly suddenly. He only glanced at his brother as he said to the girl, "Hey, Lil, could you…step outside with me for a few minutes?"

That caught Marylin, Pam, and Sam's attention at once.

Lillian hesitated only a moment before nodding. "Sure, let's go. You okay?"

Things had been a little tense with them since Luke had blown the news about Eric to Bobby, but with him asking her outside, she had hope. Maybe he would be apologizing or at least telling her what was going on.

Joshua watched tensely through its screen door as the two left the sunroom and Luke led Lilly a good way from the house. Jessica didn't know what was going on and so asked Joshua, "Everythin'…alright?"

"I hope so," Josh replied to Jessica as he watched his brother's back fade from view.

"You better," Pam said under her breath.

Marylin heard and tensed herself and had her eyes glued to their dull shapes across the backyard. Would she still have her chance to speak with her partner? Sam slid his hand across Marylin's thigh and she didn't even feel it.

* * *

"So you're going to tell me what's going on now, right?" Lillian stopped walking and by doing so forced Luke to stop as well. Walking in heels on squishy swamp grass wasn't an easy thing to do. "First you guys were late, and now this? What did you guys do?"

They stopped under one of the huge willows that lined Compton's back yard. There was a mist in the air. The crickets chirped. The growing moon was out, made the little droplets glisten under their feet. There was a light breeze. It would've been rather romantic if they were the ones who were together. Luke grinned in the way he always grinned and his eyes settled on Lilly—all dolled up the way she was. Like the dinner should've been in honor of her. He couldn't help it.

"Josh, Bobby and I…we just took a drive, hit a bar before we came here. And you know Bobby and his whiskey—they two always need a room. You should've seen us trying to pull the bottle off him, rather him off the bottle."

It was as if he'd forgotten all about _Fangtasia_. Well, maybe he hadn't, but he just couldn't bring himself to tell her. The urge had died when they got there.

"A bar," she repeated, one eyebrow arching. "If it was a bar then why did Josh look like he wanted to bolt the moment he stepped in the house?"

"Oh well see," Luke looked back at the back of the house where the sunroom protruded, laughed a bit, "I think he's got a crush on that one vampire chick. Not the one who looks like Frankenstein's wife, but the redhead. You wouldn't believe how nervous he was coming here. Asking me how his hair looked, if he needed to add more lipstick."

Lillian smirked and shook her head. "Why are you so mean to him?" she asked. "I don't really know Jess that well, but I do know _you_, Luke. And because of that, I know when you're trying to con someone, including me."

"Con you? I'd never!" But Luke's grin wouldn't die and instead he took a step towards her and had them standing just a couple feet apart. "Seriously, he likes her. Just don't tell him I told you. Did anyone tell you how good you look in dresses?"

"One or two this evening," she replied with a small smile. "And how do you feel about Josh liking a vampire? Bug you a little bit?"

Luke's expression faltered for a split second. Then he gave a wave. "Nothing's gonna happen. He just thinks she's hot, and I guess…she kinda is. You think he's going to hook up with a vampire?" He scoffed.

"Stranger things have happened. Luke, did you want to tell me something? If not we should be getting back. We're missing the party."

He was acting so strange. He faltered again and this time it lasted a moment. He scratched the back of his head, tangled a few fingers in his shaggy hair. Then at last he shook his head.

"Nothin'. Just that…I love ya, Lil. Don't want anything to happen to you." And he swung his arm around her shoulders and suppressed a little swallow and started leading her back to the house before she could see the extent of his falter.

Smiling, Lillian leaned into him and looped her arm around his waist as she set her head against his shoulder. "I love you too, but you didn't have to tell me that. I already knew."

Some of her earliest memories of her life, or at least this one, involved him. Happy they were returning to the dinner, Lillian simply concentrated on walking so that she wouldn't break an ankle. Such silly and pointless things high-heeled shoes were.

As they walked, Luke opened his mouth to say something else, something to continue along on the note of affections, however, reconsidered. "I—Hey where's Mr. Viking?"

A troubled look crossed her face. "I don't know... he just suddenly got a text earlier and left."

"Bet some of his prisoners escaped," he said none-too sarcastically. Obviously Eric had disappeared after their escape. There was no need to even doubt. "And he's skipping the whole night 'cause he's draining them or something," Luke muttered.

Lillian stopped walking to look up at him, a serious expression on her face.

"Eric doesn't have prisoners, Luke. I know you don't like him, but I would appreciate it if you would at least not bring him up if you're just going to insult him. I'm not asking you to like him, just leave him alone."

Luke took back his hand and, not looking at her, said in a low voice, "He isn't leaving _you_ alone."

"He's not going to, Luke. He's my boyfriend."

"Some boyfriend."

"That's not for you to decide," Lilly said as she took a step away from him towards the house. "This coming from the guy who broke up with _me_," she grumbled over her shoulder as she walked.

"Yeah well." Luke went after her, unable to argue that. They were several meters away from the porch. "It doesn't mean I don't give a shit anymore," he called, and now the habitual smile vanished from his face. In return came that envy that had been building since he found out about Eric, really, and anger.

"How do you think I'm supposed to feel—hell, when all of us find out he turns you?" When she heard that and stopped, he went on, crossing the distance between them again. "Huh, Lil? You think we don't think it's going to happen any time soon? Him making you like him because he supposedly _loves _you." Luke clenched his fists, remembering Chow's words. "Or just—or just because he wants a permanent fuck buddy."

Lillian took a step back like she'd been slapped as she looked up at him. "A fuck buddy?"

Luke swallowed again, but he narrowed his eyes and said: "Yeah. You think—you think he actually cares about you?" he questioned. "Because that's not what others think!"

Because they were closer to the house and Marylin and Sam sat near the entrance, Marylin sat up in her seat and watched. She was almost out of her chair. Pam, of course, heard every word, and her expression had been steadily darkening. Joshua was so tense, especially since he'd have to go past people to get around the table, that when Jessica accidently touched her cold hand to his, he jumped. But with the music in the background, and the conversation the bride and groom were still having with Jason and Tara, the others didn't pay attention.

"Whether or not he cares about me is not your concern!" Lilly shouted, finally starting to find her footing in the argument once more.

"Not my concern," Luke repeated, scoffing.

"What should be your concern is if I am happy! That's it! And guess what! I'm happy! Now why aren't _you_ happy? What aren't you telling me?"

"Why am I not happy?" Luke said, nodding his head. "What am I not telling you?" He scoffed again, at a loss for words—not because he didn't want to tell her of the trip to Eric's club. No, not because of that… There was something else he wasn't telling her. He sucked in a breath.

"Lillian." He walked towards her until there were mere inches between them, and, lifting his fist, he said, "Lil, this is what I didn't want to tell you—I'm _glad_ I didn't meet the son of a bitch, because if I met 'im. Lillian, if I meet him, I'd stake him."

Those who knew Luke rarely ever saw him this grave. All the hilarity vanished into a vacuum of hate.

"Luke-"

But Luke suddenly overcame with such emotion that he couldn't even articulate his thoughts. His fist froze midair right between them. Lillian glanced at it, stared at his face. He looked like he was going to explode, maybe implode. But the next thing she knew, she felt, was that his hand took her cheek and pulled her to him. She opened her mouth to speak again but his lips stifled her words.

He kissed her like he had wanted to kiss her days ago.

Lillian stilled, too much at a loss and stunned by the reaction. Blinking, she lifted her hands in between them to place on his upper stomach as she braced to push him off. But then his other arm came around her, held her. The passion he wanted to convey turned forceful without him meaning it. But it didn't last longer than three seconds.

What happened next took up two seconds, maybe one and a half. Inside, Marylin stood in her chair and Sam wasn't fast enough to grab his girlfriend by the arm. Joshua stood too. Then the three of them and Pam saw the blur of a figure cross the lawn within the blink of an eye. Luke was pulled off Lillian. Lillian fell backwards from the sudden separation. During the split instant that Marylin saw Eric grab Luke by the throat, she made for the door. But Pam shoved past her. Sookie stopped talking and she, Bill, Jason and Tara looked to see the sheriff back.

Because Luke was just was tall as Eric, the vampire didn't quite lift him off the ground, but he sure had more strength to hold him hard enough that Luke wouldn't try breathing.

"So this is where I find you," Eric was saying. "Sucking my girlfriend's face at someone else's party. Quite audacious after barging into my establishment and burning off the face of one of my employees."

"Lucky for you I don't have another—l-little baggy of vervain for-for you," Luke said, choking, but grinning as he grasped Eric's hand. "I think it would've—given—your face—some improvements."

At that Eric snarled and let out his fangs to bite his jugular.

Lillian saw him from the ground and made to bolt to her feet, but not for the first time the damn shoes fouled the action. "Eric, NO!" she yelled as she stood and launched herself at his back to try and pull him back, but Pam was faster.

"Easy there, pet. You might break one of those delicious lookin' pumps," she purred as she held Lillian back.

"No! Pam, let me go!" She kicked and hit every spot she could think of, but it did little more than make Pam blink. "Eric, please! Don't do this!"

"Do you think, Lillian, when someone uninvited goes into my establishment and begins to threaten my patrons, I'm supposed to take it lightly?" Eric asked her without looking back.

"We d-didn'—threaten," Luke gasped, staring at his fangs. Finally they brought some fear onto his face.

Marylin didn't have a gun but stopped behind Pam and Lilly and shouted, "Put him down, Eric, or you'll be breaking whatever truce that was made when Lilly went to you in the first place!"

"_Please_," Pam said as she glanced at her, still holding Lilly with firm, cold hands.

Behind Marylin, Bill came out next and questioned even louder, "Eric, what are you doing?"

Eric growled inside his throat, glared at Luke, then loosened his grip but didn't let him go. Slowly, the sheriff turned around and saw Sookie behind her fiancé. Behind the screen door, still inside the sunroom, were the other guests, including Joshua who had people in his way.

"_This_ is the reason I was called away, Bill," Eric answered, giving Luke a shake.

"You had to go on and interrupt our get-together so you could...find Luke and kill him?" Sookie asked incredulously.

"I wasn't going to kill him," the sheriff answered sharply. "It was he who had caused the disturbance at _Fangtasia_. His…pansy brother." He saw Joshua, then Eric looked at Lillian. "And your uncle."

Behind wide-eyed Tara, Sam whispered, "Shit."

"_Pansy_?" Joshua repeated, felt his own blood start to boil as he walked through the crowd. "We went to _Fangtasia_, but were pinned up against the wall by your lackey the moment we stepped outside. If anything, your guy is the pansy asshole that started the disturbance!"

Lillian looked back at him. Disbelieved anger suffused her features. "You—_what_?" she practically cried. "You went behind my back-" but Josh cut her off.

"What did you think was going to happen when Bobby found out he was a vampire? He just wanted information."

"Nice way of getting it," Eric praised dryly. "Stepping foot inside a nest."

"Eric, put the boy down!" Bill demanded, because Luke was turning blue. "I thought by now you'd learn that bullying isn't the way to settle matters. You're acting like a child, not a sheriff. Put him down and don't make this night all about you for once!"

Luke fell to the ground in a painful thud.

If Eric felt any scolded, he didn't show it and instead straightened and puffed his chest. If it hadn't been for the wedding, and him agreeing to take part in it, Eric would tell Bill how dare he speak to his sheriff this way, and _would_ bully Bill into remembering the place he held beneath the Eric. But Eric didn't say anything.

"I don't even know if I can go back to celebratin' now," Sookie said crossly.

Luke pulled himself up and limped back to his brother without Eric needing to snarl at him. But he did give the boy a look so dangerous that Luke only wished he had a stake on him. Pam let Lillian go as she saw Eric begin to walk away. But not towards the house.

"If this happens again," he said to the boys after a moment, "I will have the human authorities after you for trespassing."

"Not that I support them going there, Eric," Lilly started as she straightened her dress quickly and then stood straight to face him. "You never told them that they were not welcome there and because it was an open establishment, they were not trespassing."

Eric looked at her, unblinking, unemotional, and said nothing. Instead, he turned again to leave, in a way, to restrain what he really wanted to say—hunters were never welcome to _Fangtasia_. They stood out to vampires just as much as vampires stood out to hunters. But of course, Eric couldn't say that. He clenched his fists and Pam followed with a _hmph_.

To Lillian, she said as she passed, "Now you got to choose."

Lillian watched him walking away and clenched her teeth. She would _not_ be given an ultimatum. So she turned away from all of them. They could all drown themselves in the lake for all she cared. When she tripped very ungracefully on the spongy grass, she swore and kicked the heels off, but rather than pick them up, she let them lay where they were.

Eric looked at her one last time, watched her disappear behind the screen windows, and in the next moment he and Pam vanished in a blur.

In the ensuing silence, Jason decided to state the obvious: "This wasn' cool."

Sookie suddenly turned around to stomp past him back inside, but not after Lillian, who had gone through the rest of the house. Tara followed her, while Sam went out the door past Bill. Sookie fell into her chair, took a piece of pastry and asked aloud, "Is it too much to ask for everything to go perfect for ONCE!"

"Sookie, this is Bon Temps—it's never in our lives been close to perfect," Tara told her with a raised brow.

"You know what I mean—without anythin' happenin'. Now I'm going to start worrying who else will get almost killed at our weddin'. Are we going to need security guards?"

Bill heard her as he returned inside as well, Jessica behind him. "I do not think that will be necessary. I will make sure nothing else happens. And I will speak to Eric tomorrow evening. It _will_ be perfect, Sookie." The groom smiled tenderly at his bride and went to her. "I promise you, my darling." Sookie smiled only a little.

Back outside, Sam had gone to Marylin and took her by the arms to see if she was okay and gave her a quick kiss. But it didn't help. Marylin was glaring at the Twins who were still there with them.

"Good job," she barked at them. "You could've told me."

"And you would've stopped us," Luke said.

"Yeah, and made sure Eric didn't rip your head off!"

Sam felt nauseous again, like this was entirely his fault. But he just couldn't say anything. It was his fear of Mr. Singer finding out what he was that had initially prompted him to keep a lock on his mouth.

"I'm just gonna head inside," he told Marylin with a grimace. He looked back at the boys and sighed before running a hand through his hair and leaving them.

"This is total shit!" Josh yelled as he stood beside his brother. "Eric's lackey was the one that started that fight!"

Marylin crossed her arms like a scolding sister would. "Well you should've been more careful. What did Bobby do?"

"Nothing," Luke said shortly as his hands fell to his sides. He'd been rubbing at his neck. "He was going to shoot the lackey. You should've seen him though, Marylin! He's so pissed now. He's going to drag Lillian away from here."

Marylin started to turn on her heel and said exasperatedly: "I'm sure you fueled it, Luke, like you always do."

"Like hell I did!" Luke said. "You think it was going to go well with Bobby? I never thought I'd be saying this, but thank God Sam isn't a freak, or Bobby would die of a heart attack."

At that, Marylin said nothing and climbed up the back porch stairs. Little did all of them know.

Joshua watched her go before looking back at his brother. "I told you what would happen. You're such an idiot sometimes, but you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Luke said. "I'm going to need a neck brace after today, but I'm fine. I'm going to go to the car. Go say bye to everyone if you want. I'll meet to you there."

The boy turned to go around the huge house and to the front. At this point, if Eric was waiting for him by the car because Luke would be alone, Luke didn't care. He'd gladly fight him. Hell, he was in such a cruddy mood he didn't care if he'd die defending Lilly—whether she needed to be defended or not.

Joshua stalled only a moment or two before shoving his hands in his pockets and heading inside. They were sitting around the table again. Marylin had gone inside the house, he assumed. "Uh, Bill, Sookie...we're gonna take off. Thank you for dinner it was great, I'm just-well, I'm sorry for all the trouble we caused."

His puppy dog eyes drifted over to Jessica, to whom he gave a small, sad smile.

Bill said forgivingly, "It's alright. I will speak to Eric tomorrow on you and your brother's behalf. Your family had every right to know about him and Lillian. And I am certain Lillian wishes for your support. Eric is…simply a bit difficult sometimes."

"More like all the time," Sookie mumbled. And Bill had asked the sheriff to marry them.

"Will you—guys be at work tomorrow?" Jessica voiced unexpectedly.

The boy nodded his thanks and then gave another to the baby vampire. "We'll be there."

Jessica smiled small and looked down coyly. "Night then." The sun was about to rise in a little over an hour, anyway. The boy headed out the front door while Sookie gave a disbelieving look to Bill.

"Did I just see that?"

As Jessica looked at them in question as to what they were talking about, a silent _what?_ on her face, Bill just smiled at his progeny. Jason and Tara both yawned. The coffee they had drank earlier worked exactly oppositely.

* * *

Marylin found Lilly in the living room, standing not sitting, and idly watching the Twins drive away in Bobby's rusty Chevelle. Their headlights lit the vintage drapes and then disappeared into the darkness of the bog of the land. Marylin approached the blonde slowly but not apprehensively. This was when they'd talk. Lilly heard her footsteps but didn't turn around. The fireplace was lit, casting mute orange across the blue wallpaper and her own blue dress, and on her bare arms and hair, as if the smoldering Lilly felt was seeping outwards.

"Lillian," Marylin began in her serious voice.

"If there is any chance of us not having this discussion right now," Lillian started without facing her, voice strained, "I would greatly appreciate it if we took it and waited till later."

"When later?" Marylin asked. She stood on one side of the fireplace and her partner was on the other. Marylin's own face glowed, determined.

Frustration bubbling out of her, Lillian finally turned and saw her expression. Marylin was stubborn as always. Lillian shrugged exasperatedly. "Maybe when I don't feel like I've hurt Eric, or when I don't feel like hauling off and decking Luke?"

Marylin let out a breath and urged her own words to be leveler. "I'm not going to yell at you, Lilly. I just—I just need to know what's been going on."

Lillian's voice clenched as firmly as her fists. "Marylin, I'm so—so _mad_ right now, I don't know what I might say to you."

"After tonight, I think I'd be able to handle it, Lilly," Marylin told her. "I've been waiting for a while to talk to you." Marylin knew Lilly knew. Lilly couldn't hide _that_ lie. So measuredly, Marylin repeated, "What has been happening?"

The blonde's shoulders drooped as she slowly shook her head and moved to sit on the velvet sofa. She sighed heavily. No one could outrun Marylin and her inherited drive for interrogation. Not even Lilly.

"Everything really... We're all changing, Mar. Some more than others." They were almost cryptic words, holding a different meaning for both of them. "Things are changing," Lillian said again as she looked up at her friend, a mixture of uncertainty and weariness in her eyes.

"Yes," Marylin agreed warily, and lifting her hands, remained by the fireplace as they regarded each other. "It seems like we're both agreeing to stop hunting, even though that's what we've been doing for the past month now without making an actual agreement. You agree—right? Stop hunting indefinitely."

Become waitresses, which they've already done, live with their small town boyfriends, which Marylin was already doing. In Lillian's case, become a mistress to vampire sheriff. But Marylin heard and saw the ambiguity on Lillian's face—but what else could Lillian have meant?

"That's not quite what I meant, though that has been on my mind as well… Mar, come sit down with me."

Marylin hesitated for a beat but then slowly approached and took a seat beside her. The apprehension in Marylin's gray eyes grew wide as she waited, held Lilly's brown eyes cautiously. Was Lilly going to tell her at last what Sookie had none-too discretely referred to? Whatever it was. Lilly regarded her friend out of the corner of her gaze, and Marylin was unable to fathom was great mystery behind it.

After a beat or two that Lilly used to inwardly deliberate, Marylin impatiently asked, "What is it?"

"I'm—something. Jesus, Mar... I, well, I'm not the same anymore," she told her, looking away briefly.

And just hearing her tone, Marylin's alarm skyrocketed. Her voice jumped. "What do you mean not the same?" Only one conclusion came to mind. "Because of _Eric_?"

"Well, yes, actually, but-" Lilly's own eyes widened as she saw the expression on Marylin's face. "No! Not that! Geez, Mar, I'm not a vampire."

Marylin put a hand on her heart, and said, "I think I would've been able to tell if you were, Lillian."

Lillian nodded, gestured with her hands, tried to figure out how to explain as she went. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm changing. I'm no longer just a hunter. There's... something awakening within me and it's not something that we knew about before I started dating Eric."

"Awakening?" Marylin repeated disbelievingly. "Because of Eric."

"Wow…it sounds even more stupid then I thought." Lillian shook her head and looked at the floor. "I'm not just me. Apparently...I have a past."

"A past? A past that I knew nothing about?"

"That none of us knew about!" Lillian replied quickly as she looked up at her again. "What do you know about Valkyries?"

"_Valkyries_?" Marylin was so lost now she had that "are-you-_crazy_?" expression on her face. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times. She didn't know what to say. Lillian looked so earnest, that mystery surfacing but having trouble, and Marylin briefly wondered if she'd begun to take drugs. But God forbid, how could Lillian take drugs?

"I—I don't know. What about them?" Marylin questioned.

"I _am_ one, Mar..."

No answer came. Marylin didn't even say, "What?" She didn't blink. She didn't stand, or lean away from a double head in her face. She just stared. She stared into the depths of Lillian's eyes, the way they reflected the flames of the fireplace, and wondered if misheard, or imagined the answer.

So Lillian had to repeat herself.

"Marylin, I am a Valkyrie... We discovered it when I started dating Eric." Which wasn't entirely true. They'd actually discovered it when she'd started taking Eric's blood, but who was arguing semantics?

Now Marylin did stand. She rose slowly but as if her knees turned to jelly. She took a step back because she needed to regard her friend and her problem from a distance. Marylin spoke monotonously, at last, when Lillian opened her mouth to say more.

"You know how this sounds, right?" Marylin said.

"Like you need to commit me?"

Marylin lifted her hands and shrugged, smiled in disbelief, scoffed too. "I—uh. Jesus, Lillian!" She then turned around to pace and ran a hand through her hair.

"What do you want me to say? I know how it sounds. It was hard enough for me to believe it. In fact, had it not been for the dreams, I probably wouldn't have ever known."

Marylin turned back to face her, so shocked, so confused, about to call her out on the bullshitting—even though it wasn't at all. It was just too crazy to Marylin. She knew what Valkyries were. She knew they were part of mythology, and what kind of mythology that was exactly. But never had they confronted anything akin to one. Sure hunters saw many things unimaginable to civilians, but demi-gods—that's what Valkyries were essentially—that was like saying unicorns existed, and they were known to shoot rainbows out of their asses.

Marylin felt her annoyance boil before she could give Lillian any chance to explain further. She rounded on her and almost yelled. "What the hell has Eric done to you?"

"Nothing! This isn't Eric's fault, in fact if anything it's my fault—Svava's fault." Lillian was muddling all of this up horribly and she knew it. "Do you want me prove it? You want me to beg you to believe me?"

Just then as Lillian had stood from the couch, too frustrated to simply sit there, Sookie entered the living room and stopped in her tracks at the ensuing argument. "Is there a problem here?" she asked almost meekly.

Marylin spun around and had to restrain herself. "No, there isn't," she said rather sharply.

But Sookie walked towards them, knowing better, and answered, "I think there is. You were arguin', I heard." When she saw the both of them go uncomfortable, she added, "Bill didn't hear. He was seein' Tara and Jason out. And Sam told me to tell you, Marylin, that he'll just meet you back at his place."

Marylin gave a slight nod. The privacy was now ruined. As Sookie looked at Lillian, not needing to mind read to see the trouble she was having, she went around the couches to meet them.

Gently, Sookie said to her, "If you want, Lillian, I'll just show Marylin. I thought it would've gone easier since she's your best friend an' all. I guess…it became more complicated than that." Sookie's tone was chiding.

"Show me what?" Marylin questioned cautiously.

Lillian looked at her and all she saw was uncertainty. "I'm not sure that's a good idea..."

But what choice did she have? Nothing she could do would convince her friend of her duel nature. Only facts could tell, and frankly, she wasn't sure exactly how to give Marylin the facts.

Marylin stared as Sookie slowly approached her, hand out stretched. "It's okay," she assured her in a voice so alarmingly eerie that Marylin took an involuntary step back. "It's not goin' to hurt. I'm just goin' to show you what Lillian saw, and then you'll understand."

Marylin looked between them with alarm. "What are you talking about? Lillian, what the hell is going on?"

Then Sookie's calm broke. "Oh, for Pete's sake!"

And she grabbed Marylin's arm and narrowed her eyes on her own, grabbed the mental connection, and Marylin all but swooned. It didn't hurt but her vision did a 360 and Sookie grabbed her just in time before her knees buckled. Lillian rushed forward and slowly helped the both of them to the couch. Once settled, she anxiously stood beside them and watched. She had more than experienced what Sookie was going to show Marylin, and knew that it was startling. She only hoped it worked.

Marylin's limbs tensed from feet to head. She didn't go unconscious. No, she was completely awake. But as the visions of Lilly's past life—both Valhalla and earth flashed before her eyes (she didn't see the two women above her), Marylin could only watch as if it were a dream, rather memories, staring past the ceiling. So incredibly vivid, like a 4D movie. Memories that felt so unbelievably real, as Lillian stared at her friend's wide open, unblinking eyes, the hairs on the back of Lillian's neck stood on end. And Sookie concentrated on projecting what she had seen first hand in Lillian's head. There was a lot.


	25. I'm Mad Again

**NOTE: I can't express how sorry I am that at last I am updating this story. It has been a couple of years. Please, please forgive me. I can't explain why I stopped because I don't remember, but I have found the writing that remains of this story and decided to post. I truly hope you will give it another chance and continue, for the story is still great. True Blood is still awesome and beings soon!**

* * *

Took him home with me, introduced him to my baby,  
He began to talk to her, made her think the moon was blue  
You know I think I ought to tell you daddy  
I'm mad, I said I'm mad with you  
I don't know what I'm gonna do to you  
I might drown you, I might shoot you  
I just don't know because I'm mad

~ The Animals

Marylin's limbs tensed from feet to head. She didn't go unconscious. No, she was completely awake. But as the visions of Lilly's past life—both Valhalla and earth flashed before her eyes (she didn't see the two women above her), Marylin could only watch as if it were a dream, rather memories. So incredibly vivid, like a 4D movie. Memories that felt so incredibly real, as Lillian stared at her friend's wide open, unblinking eyes, the hairs on the back of Lillian's neck stood on end. And Sookie concentrated on projecting what she had seen first hand in Lillian's head. There was a lot.

There was no denying that the blonde woman Marylin saw was Lillian. They were alike in both form and feature, but there were differences. With each life that she witnessed the ferocity seemed to dim. It was replaced with a gentle strength that Marylin was more familiar with. There was no way it could ever be seen as weakness, but the cut and dry, black and white attitude that was present in Lillian's earlier lives seemed to morph into the current mindset she had today. It was demonstrated how in one life, Marylin saw her on the battlefield, resplendent in her Valkyrie armor, and in another a maid in some old European home. Sookie's visions jumped from one to next at an almost dizzying speed. It was hard to follow them, and probably left Marylin with more questions than answers.

"_Sookie, what are you doing_?"

Bill came in, taken aback at first, then Sookie quickly explained as he looked over the back of the couch at Marylin. His fiancée's voice strained because she had to concentrate, holding Marylin's hands, eyes locked with hers.

"I'm showin' her, Bill. I—I've never actually—done this before." A nervous smile came across the bride's face, a lock of hair in her face. She blew it away. Her hair was loosening. "Projected things I'd seen in someone else's head onto someone else."

"Sookie, why would you?" Bill looked from her to Lillian. "The previous time Lilly had fainted."

"Well I'm hopin' Marylin won't," Sookie said determinedly. "Well, she could, but I reckon its…" Just then Marylin gave a moan. "Like a day dream."

But the daydream ended rather abruptly as Marylin's eyes suddenly rolled back and she collapsed onto the couch. Lillian rushed to kneel down beside her friend and grabbed her hand.

"If she wasn't so stubborn, she wouldn't had to see all of this," Lilly scolded, though it was light and the worry mixed with affection shown in her eyes.

"But it sure will keep any more arguin' between you two," Sookie said, and stood to give Lillian room with her friend. "Bill, are you goin' to ground soon?"

"In twenty minutes," Bill answered, and his brows were furrowed a moment. So much had happened that night. He let out a slight breath. "Lillian, both you and Marylin can stay here the night, if you wish," he said. "There are some blankets in the closet in the hallway, and we have a spare room upstairs, third one on the left."

"I'll go get the blankets," Sookie obliged.

Lillian nodded her thanks and after making sure her friend was comfortable, stood up to face Bill. "This isn't going to make her like Eric anymore than she already does. In fact, it might make it worse."

Bill pressed his lips together in a frown. She was right. But he said, "There always is a chance it might not..." He looked down at Marylin who was breathing, but probably wouldn't wake up till morning. It was almost 5 AM, after all.

"I wish you two consulted me before you went ahead and did it, but Sookie…likes to take matters in her own hands sometimes. And I trust her and her abilities. But if it does get worse, and Marylin's first reaction will be to go find Eric herself, I will be up as soon as the sun goes down, and perhaps we can decide on something together. Maybe you ought to take the day off tomorrow."

"I need to see Eric before anyone else does," she told him gently. She wasn't looking forward to it and there was still a stubborn part of her that wanted to refuse. "Unfortunately, there is something he and I have to discuss."

Bill couldn't tell her not to see her boyfriend. Just then Sookie came back with a couple pillows and a stack of blankets, dropped them on the other couch. "Are you going to sleep here with Marylin?" she asked.

The hunter nodded. Though both had cars, she couldn't leave her friend there to wake up alone. Now that Marylin knew the truth, Lillian had no choice but to face the music and handle the situation instead of running from it. Bidding her goodnight, Bill and Sookie left her by Marylin's side, and shortly after, the sun's first rays trickled through the trees.

* * *

Marylin was in the sunroom with a cup of coffee in her hands. It was a good roast she had found in the kitchen and brewed black and strong because it was the only thing she thought would help her keep her wits. Not because she was tired—even though she only had a few hours sleep—but because she needed to keep her mind clear and rational. But after seeing what she saw, she began to wonder if she knew what rationality was any more.

She stared across Bill's backyard and focused on the willows and the bright sun and its warmth and breathed slowly to stay calm, trying to soak in the aroma of the coffee. The startle and panic she felt had made her numb. From the moment she had woken up, she realized every inch of her body frozen. She wasn't angry, but she wasn't happy either. It was Lillian's life—but Marylin's own had done a one-eighty because of it, all in one night. She wondered if their lived life together meant anything now.

It was around 6 AM. She was the first one to be up. But when she heard the soft footsteps behind her, she didn't start. She had waited for Lillian to wake up on her own, but Marylin also dreaded seeing her. So she didn't turn around. She stayed standing in front of the screen windows and merely turned her head just enough to catch a glimpse of her partner.

Marylin's voice was slightly hoarse but clear. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Now..." Lillian started, as she stepped closer to Marylin, cradling her own warm mug of coffee between her hands, with milk. "I think we have to figure out where we stand. I know that was a lot for you to take in last night, and... I need to know how you feel about it."

Marylin's first answer was shrugging. Then a few moments of silence followed as she raised a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. She still didn't turn to face her friend.

"I saw you… I saw another part of you that I never knew existed. Where was it during all these years?" she asked at last. "Why did it reveal itself _now_?"

Lillian was silent at first. Slowly, she stepped closer and looked out the window. "A lot of things have changed recently... you know that."

"_This_ is different," Marylin said. At last she turned to her. She looked at her with a cautious expression. But she didn't wait for Lillian to answer her. "You told me last night that if you and Eric had never gotten together, it wouldn't have happened. What did he _do_ to you?"

"It's the blood," Lillian admitted, though she was leaving out the reason for her taking Eric's blood. "By taking his blood... it woke something—Svava up." It was the truth, if a sugar coated one.

"You agreed to taking his _blood_?"

"It wasn't something I agreed on, Mar, but... I didn't really have much of a choice." Lillian's stomach turned and she could feel the unease creeping onto her face. It wasn't that she regretted anything she had done, but she didn't want to further Marylin's shock.

But there was only one thing Marylin could assume now. Her voice jumped with dread. "Were you dying?"

"There was an incident, yes," Lillian admitted after a small hesitation. "But Eric saved me."

"What incident?"

It didn't surprise her that Marylin hadn't let Lillian's cryptic explanation satisfy. "We ran into some hunters and things went south pretty fast. I got in the way, and...well Eric saved me."

Marylin stared at her, speechless, then turned back to the window, her eyes even wider and the dread in the pit of her stomach heavier. "Jesus, Lillian," she breathed. "And you didn't tell me about any of it?" she all but demanded.

She decided not to question why Lillian got in the way of Eric in the first place, because Marylin knew very well, but she wanted to—badly—tell her how incredibly stupid it was.

"I had to find out _now_?"

"How could I tell you before?" Lillian turned to look at her. "It's not like I could just hold up a white flag for five minutes to tell you. We've been... distant."

Lillian had hardly raised her voice during the entire conversation, and at last the truth of her statement was enough to put Marylin out. A guilty look went across Marylin's face. She thought back to the other times they've argued and Marylin would blame all of their discord on Eric. Her first instinct was to do so again, but it seemed childish this time.

"So what do we do now?" she asked instead. As she regarded her friend, the caution set in again. Who was Marylin looking at—Lillian or Svava? "What are you going to do now?"

Lillian shrugged a little sadly and sat down. "I'm not sure. I need to go talk to Eric sooner rather than later. Last night didn't end so well."

"OK," Marylin said. But then, all of a sudden, she didn't want her friend going to Eric's alone, regardless of Svava. And perhaps if she did go, he could shed more light on the entire matter. She would suck it up and go into Fangtasia just for that. "Want me…to go with you?"

"I don't know... Maybe I should go by myself. I appreciate you wanting to go, Mar, but... I really do need to talk to him alone."

"Alright," Marylin conceded. "Then I'm going to head to Sam's. I was supposed to meet him there after the party and I never did. Maybe I can work some shifts today." Taking her coffee off of the window ledge, she took a few steps towards the exit. They had an entire day until nightfall, but Marylin certainly didn't want to spend it there at the Compton house, not after the night before.

"I'll come with you," Lillian responded quickly. She wanted to spend time with Marylin even if it was in a work capacity. Though she felt their conversation had started the healing process between them, they still had a long way to go.

Marylin led the way out of the sunroom. They returned their mugs to the kitchen. The entire house was still quiet—Sookie was asleep, and probably would be until midday (Sam had given her off work). It was almost 7 AM. Fortunately Lillian had taken the Mustang there the night before and it stood obediently in the gravel drive. They had also yet to see the twins and Bobby. The girls had yet to hear what Bobby would say about the-none-too incognito trip to Fangtasia.

* * *

Marylin stepped quietly past the kitchen, eyes set on the duffle bag that was on the armchair in the living area. The trailer was quiet, the door to the bedroom shut. The clock showed almost 8 AM. She grabbed some clothes from the bag, deciding it hardly mattered what she chose as long as she could get out of last night's dinner party dress, and then she took off her heels and grabbed her boots that were half way under the coffee table. She didn't put the on, however, but held them in her hands.

Crossing back to the door, she tried to be as quiet as she came in. But as she turned the door handle, another behind her did as well.

"Mar'lin?" Her name was said with exhausted surprise, through a yawn. She turned around to face Sam who stood in the doorway of his bedroom in his boxer shorts.

"I didn't want to wake you," she said with a weak smile, turning around.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and stepped towards her, looking wearier than usual. Suspicion arose as he looked her up and down and saw that she was still in her dress. "I wasn' sleeping anyway. Where were you? Did Sookie tell you I was gonna meet you back home and wait for you?"

Marylin stared at him for a beat because she had forgotten, then she nodded. "Yes, she did. I'm sorry. Lilly and I, we had to discuss some things. It got really late. Sookie and Bill let us just stay the night." It was almost the truth. She walked towards him and smiled more. But Sam just sighed.

"Well you could've answered your phone, Mar."

"It died I guess. I didn't hear it. I'm sorry," she said again, putting a hand on his bare chest, looking into those puppy dog eyes of his to convince him.

"I thought somethin' might've happened," he told her, and her hand slid down.

"No," she lied, her smile vanishing into seriousness. She made sure to hold his gaze steadily. "Nothing else happened. No, we were just—trying to figure out what to do about everything else. Luke, Josh and Fangtasia. Eric almost strangling Luke," she added unhappily.

Sam nodded and let out a breath as the night before resurfaced in his head, including the pit that had formed in his stomach—knowing of the Fangtasia plan and doing nothing to stop it. "Are…they okay?"

"We didn't see them yet. They were fine when they left last night. I was just grabbing some clothes to change into and then we were going to go to the motel."

"Right," the man said, and turned around to go back to the bedroom and put on a shirt and pants. "Where is Lilly?"

"She's outside."

Sam looked up from searching through his dresser, grimacing slightly. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand and gestured with the other. "Invite her in. I'll put some coffee on before you two go."

"You aren't going to try to sleep some more?" she asked.

"Nah, can't sleep. I'll just caffeinate myself throughout the day," he answered. She took a half step towards him. Then he looked back at her again and his smile twitched a little. One could've said it appeared as though he were walking on eggshells with her. Sam gave her another smile and put on some jeans. "Go get her."

Marylin decided not to ask him again if he was certain. So she just said, "Okay," and left. He watched her go with knitted eyebrows. Outside, Lilly was waiting by the Mustang. When Marylin returned with her, Sam was already in the kitchen putting the said coffee on and took out a carton of eggs from the fridge.

Smiling at them, he said, "Mornin', Lillian. Either you want eggs? I'm gonna fix myself some."

Marylin quickly went to change in the bedroom.

* * *

The door was locked, and no one was answering her knocks. Even as she put her ear to the door, no sound came, so it quickly became obvious that Eric was not in his office—while the speakers behind her pumped out the usual heavy and dark music, enough to make her whole body thrum, and the usual patrons spent the night doing what it was that they usually did. The club rarely ever closed down, even when the master was gone, nor did any one take much notice, because everything was kept flawless as always, from the daily entertainment on the stages and pole dancing pedestals, to the service at the bar.

She searched the faces she saw through the doorway into the club but didn't see him. He was definitely not there. Over two months ago, which seemed like forever, she'd have eyes on her, because every vampire could fish out a hunter from a crowd, but now she was a patron herself. Perhaps she could wait a bit, take a seat at the bar. Maybe he'd come back that night and she'd get her chance to speak with him.

As she turned however, releasing the door handle, which hadn't budged, she saw someone in her way.

Pam stood with her eyebrow raised and her hand on her hip in a questioning manner. She wore an off-shoulder, sparkling red dress vaguely reminiscent of Lady Gaga. All the woman needed was a matching mask.

"Have you come to apologize?" she asked with disbelief, albeit scornfully as usually. "I'm afraid it's gonna take more than that to get Eric back to the lovey-dovey way he was with you."

"I'm so thankful to hear your concern for the wellbeing of our relationship, Pam, but rest assured," Lillian lifted an eyebrow as she spoke and regarded her fellow blonde, knowing full well the sarcasm would not be lost on her, "there isn't anything for you to worry about. I wouldn't want it keeping you up at night."

Pam's hand fell from her side, both of her fists clenched, and she stepped towards Lillian too close for comfort. The vampire barely swallowed the insult, what she thought was an insult, and looked on the edge of a fit. Of course, Lillian wasn't intimidated, but Pam would pick a fight regardless.

"Eric is my maker, Lillian," she reminded. "His problems are _my_ problems. What pisses him off, pisses _me_ off. So when the problems you cause us, the problems you've been causin' us for a while now, actually, effect the relationship between _me_ and _him_, you better think twice, warrior princess, before tellin' me not to make it my concern."

Lillian's mouth opened slightly at the name Pam had given her, successfully wiping some of the confidence from her face. Rather then acknowledge it, she toughened her resolve. She straightened and stared right into Pam's heavily kohl-lined eyes.

"Here's the thing, Pam, I didn't get with Eric to have some strange little threesome with his progeny, I'm a little more human and monogamous in that regard, so you can take your attitude and shove it for all I care, because this is between Eric and me."

Pam's jaw tightened, jumping in her gaunt pale cheeks. Her gaze went livid. Her hands unclenched and even lifted an inch or two at her sides, but she suppressed the urge to strangle the hunter. Somehow, she suppressed it. Lillian half-expected her to lay a hand on her, even prepared herself inside, the muscles in her leg contracting to take a step back. But no—instead, to Lillian's surprise, Pam turned past her, swept less than an inch away from bumping shoulders, a sharp jingling in her hand. She swiftly unlocked the door to the office, and before Lillian could make her exit, Pam grabbed the hunter by the arm and pulled in her after her.

The door slammed shut behind them. Lillian jerked away the second she could, backed away, and Pam faced her with a deadly air.

"Fortunately for you, I can't harm a hair on your little head, but I am _going_ to have this talk with you," she began. She spoke as if the very words made her nauseous. "It's overdue. Eric should've done it weeks ago, but he didn't want to upset you—even possibly lose you. I wouldn't care, but it would hurt him if you left, so I assured him you two were practically Twilight. Thank you so much, Pam, right?" Pam said when she saw Lillian's surprise. "I didn't say that for you, sweet pea. I said it so Eric would have one less thing to worry about. But that was all weeks ago…before the rest of your family came to town, aimin' their guns and stupid little herbs at us."

Pam relished the offense she got and smiled.

"The sweet fog you put over him lifted and Eric remembered who he was with—somehow he had managed to forget that you were one of them, and how most of our patrons dream of sinking their teeth into your neck every time you come here. Oh they do, Lillian." She took a step towards her at that, heals clicking. "Don't look so surprised. Just because the Boss claimed you doesn't mean you've suddenly become part of our club. It's gonna to take way more than doing whatever it is you do to get the membership."

Her words hurt. Lillian was human enough to admit it to herself. Why shouldn't they hurt? Here Pam was making her and her family out to be monsters when she herself was a vampire.

"I do have to thank you, Pam," she told the woman, not bothering to stop when she saw the look of mild surprise and curiosity. "You were right. I needed a reminder. A reminder that all in all, neither of us are different. Here your whole speech was to make me see the differences, and yet, you've only managed to prove how similar we are. You're Eric's progeny, the closest thing to family he has and here is your way of protecting him. No," she suddenly said when it looked like Pam was going to interrupt. Pam's eyes narrowed.

"It's my turn on the soap box. According to my family, they were only trying to gather information and protect me. Say what you want, but it all seems pretty similar to me. Thank you for your concern about Eric's well being. I'm happy to know he has someone he can rely on, but know this, no speech or threat, or glare, or anything you or any other vampire, human, shifter, or even God himself can throw at me will make me give up on Eric. So you're better off saving your breath. Good night, Pam."

Watching her turn to leave, Pam pressed her red lips tight together and crossed her arms. She let out a breath and resisted rolling her eyes. Something in her changed—marginally. So when in a rather reluctant but compliant tone, she said, "_Wait_," Lillian stopped with her own surprise.

"I believe you—I believe that you care about him. Okay?" Pam's hand went to her hip as she admitted this with difficulty. "I watched Eric seduce supermodels, princesses in his days and toss them aside afterwards when he was done because they were boring and stupid but…maybe—" However, Pam paused, and her tone went dry.

"If you two got this past together, whatever the hell it is, then fine. I can't do anythin' about it. But let me say this: Pretty soon, you're goin' to have to choose, and somewhere inside of yourself, you know it."

Once again Pam was right. Lillian would have to face the very thing that Eric and she had avoided for so long. Slowly, she nodded.

"I know, though the idea of you comparing me to a character in Twilight has me a little annoyed," she added with a smirk. It was obvious by the look on her face that she still wasn't happy with the prospect.

"What happened last night, Pam, wasn't supposed to happen. Things went very wrong very fast, and I think until we figure out what happened, living this way won't work." The hunter took a slow breath. "I know you don't like me, and I don't expect you or even hold out hope that you will some day, but I love your maker, and I don't plan on letting petty grievances and pissing contests tear us apart."

"Sure," Pam said dryly, and ushered the hunter out of the office. They made their way back to the club.

Whispering, the vampire said: "I don't hate you, I was just never impressed by you. And your…cowgirl choice of dress makes me want to puke most of the time. So when you get back in touch with—Svava or whatever her name is—and decide to make a drastic change with your life and appearance, maybe we can have more girl talks like these."

The woman smiled almost sweetly, but it looked painful.

Her words were surprising but still brought a small smile to Lilly's face. "I'm a little afraid of what you would prefer clothing wise, but maybe one day we'll find out."

"Maybe. I think about it," Pam said flatly, and stopped near the bar, hand resuming position on her hip. "Wait here for Eric, and think about what we talked about."

* * *

Two hours later, a man and a woman strode down the hallway that Eric's office was located in, but they didn't go to the office. They were on their way out and seemed to have been there the whole time—there in the building. One might guess the lower level. After all, the building had a vast basement and who knows what else. The woman had red hair that was styled in perfectly waving curls. She wore fox fur stole around her pale shoulders, and underneath a pale pink dress reminiscent of the 1940s. Her chin was up and her red lips pouted. One might have also guessed that she was a bitch.

The man with her was Eric, and he forced a smile as he walked with her, but those who knew him best would've readily said that he wanted Queen Sophie Anne out of there at last. She went on criticizing as she usually did, strutting in a fashion far more haughty than Pam ever could.

"I thought you were going to redecorate, Northman. The upper floor is no better than your drab basement. Do you smell that must in the air? Surely you smell it. I thought Pam knew something about interior design. You've heard of vintage, haven't you? It's all the rage now. The golden years of the century are coming back. Add some class, add some elegance for chrissake! Vampire doesn't mean dreary."

"Thank you, my Queen, I will take your suggestions under advisement," Eric said, patience wearing thin. He didn't give a shit about her suggestions.

"Good," Sophie Anne said, and stopped and turned around to face him with a smile. He was taller than her by two heads, but she was his queen, after all, and she enjoyed having the one thousand year old Viking as her servant, hunching in a bow whenever he had her attention. "I'll look forward to our next meeting then. I can even give the number of one of my wonderful decorators, if you'd like."

Eric forced his smile wider and nodded. "Thank you."

"I'll have my assistant call you with it." Sophie took a step towards him. "Now about what we talked about." Her voice lowered and the smile vanished, her eyes deadly. "Time, Northman. I don't have much time. The IRS is will be on my ass very soon, and you know what that means…your and your child and your surprisingly successful tourist stop will be going down with me."

"You have my word, my queen. It will be moved and sold as soon as possible."

"Sell it half-off, if you must. Just get it sold and gone so we can forget about this," she hissed.

"I will do my best," Eric promised.

"I will need a hell of a lot better than your best," she snapped at him.

A muscle in Eric's cheek jumped, but before he could say anything, both of them turned around to a voice at the end of the hall.

"Eric? Oh, your majesty. Sorry to interrupt." Pam wasn't very sorry. Sophie Anne turned around, flicked her hair over her shoulder, and _hmph'_d. Pam arched a brow.

As the two approached her, Eric asked, letting his annoyance show, "What is it?"

Pam looked between them, hesitated for a beat, then shifted her weight to her other hip. "You've got a visitor, Eric," she said in a cryptic tone. Eric caught it, and both of them exchanged swift silent words.

"A visitor? Oh, and I was just on my way out," Sophie lamented, gloved hand out. "A shame I can't stay for tea."

"Yes, what a shame," Pam drawled as they walked out of the hallway and into the club.

By this part of the night, near 3 AM, the club assumed a calmer atmosphere as the patrons, drunk with their blood intake, lulled in the private booths and tables. As they passed the bar, Eric spotted the blonde sitting there but had no intention of going to her. He didn't even look at her. Neither did Pam.

"But maybe one drink. I think I need one after tonight. How often is it that I sit down and have a drink here?" Sophie Anne considered, and stopped just a few meters away from where Lilly sat. Eric and Pam froze. The Queen looked at them. "Pam, do be so kind as to get me a Blood Mary?" Vampire style, of course.

Pam's face fell and she slowly looked to her maker who widened his eyes just slightly in a wordless, _Go, get her the drink._ Drier than ever, Pam said, "I'll be back…my Queen." Sophie Anne smiled sweetly at her obedience.

Eric gestured away from the bar, not showing how on edge he really was.

"Let us then go have a seat?" Sophie Anne didn't say anything, looked to the bar, considered, eyes running over Lillian's head, and after a moment at last agreed and Eric let out his breath. He led them to one of the private booths but left the curtains how they were. Still he didn't look at Lillian.

Eric Northman was not a figure to be missed. When he had walked into a room, the people inhabiting were immediately aware of his presence whether they wanted to or not. The effect wasn't lost on Lillian, and when he walked away with the influential red head, her gaze followed. Was it possible that Eric was so upset over what had happened the night before that he was attempting to move on, and show this by not only ignoring her but by flaunting the woman in front of her?

The blonde hunter's eyes narrowed as she watched them and casually took a drink from the rum and coke before her. It so happened that Ginger was right in front of her, wiping some glasses behind the counter, so Pam deftly appeared beside Lillian. Yet Pam didn't look at her.

"Ginger, I need a Bloody Mary, stat," Pam said irritably but low enough that those on the other side of the room wouldn't hear her. The music helped. Ginger looked like she was about to question the order. "Not for me. For Miss Sophie Anne." Pam said the name with such disdain. She then leaned across the counter. "And feel free to give it a good spit or two."

"Really?" Ginger stuttered.

Pam lifted her eyebrow and that was enough of an answer. Ginger went quickly preparing the vampire version of the Blood Mary, and Pam leaned against the bar. In the mirror on the back wall across from her and Lilly, she went about fixing her hair, still paying no attention to Lilly.

"Sophie Anne," Lillian repeated softly, searching her mind for why the name sounded familiar. Slowly, she stole a look at the pair sitting at the private table.

While Sophie Anne didn't touch Eric in any way, she was leaning against the wrap around couch in a very alluring manner. She had taken off her stole and reclined, smiling sultrily.

No sooner had Ginger finished the drink and placed it on the bar counter than Pam took it—it was martini glass with a deep bottom and decorated with some mint. But before she made to take it to the Queen, she leaned towards Lillian's ear, nearly startling her and whispering:

"Sorry, I don't think tonight's the night. You should leave."

Lillian managed to pull her concentration from Eric and his guest, to glance back at Pam and see the seriousness on her face. It wasn't that she was sorry, but the hunter could see that the desire for Lillian to leave wasn't based on selfishness, and so she complied.

The blonde took out her wallet and placed a bill on the counter to pay for her drink, and stood to leave, keeping to the path closest to the bar so as to try and avoid any undue attention.

But as Pam placed the Bloody Mary in front of Sophie Anne, it was quite literally too late. The Queen had sharp eyes and a lust for snooping and so instead of saying thank you, she looked at Pam with her teenager, white flawless face and inquired:

"Pam, who was that you were speaking to?"

Eric looked questioningly at his progeny.

"Who? Oh," Pam glanced back so fast she didn't even really look. So she plastered on a wide smile. "No one, my Queen."

Sophie Anne began to pout. "No one?"

"No one," Eric repeated quickly, and Sophie Anne spun in her seat to look at him.

"Oh, so you know her too," she said to him.

"Just a human," he said, giving a dismissive wave. "You know we get a lot of tourists."

"And they surely know where they're walking into. Oh, she's leaving. Quick, Pam." Eric and Pam exchanged looks. Eric's was deadly, while Sophie Anne couldn't see, and Pam's expression became that of an aggravated statue. They walked stupidly into a lion's den. "Fetch her… Invite her over here. Ask her if she'd like a drink with the Queen."

"She's already out the door," Eric tried.

"Which is why, Northman, we vampires are fast. Pam," she said again, harsher, and Pam had no choice. Sophie Anne turned to Eric and grinned across the low table. "Don't you know how much I like blonde ones?" Eric fists clenched at his sides.

Before Lillian could get her second foot out the door, Pam appeared in front of her.

"Pam," Lillian greeted with an arched brow.

"It seems you've caught her majesty's eye," the vampire repeated, her own brow up. "Why I thought you could get out the door fast enough is beyond me. Oh well, let's go."

She gestured back into the club and only pursed her lips more when Lillian hesitated and then turned to head back towards where Eric and the queen sat. There had been little she could have done to get out of it and both knew it.

Eric was first to see Lillian as Pam led her across the room. Sophie Anne had her back to them. But when she turned, smiling in an oddly but deceptively inviting way, Eric stiffened and straightened. His jaws were tight and jutted, betraying the slightest softness (and urgency), as he said:

"Lilly."

"Oh her name is Lilly?" Sophie Anne chirped at once. "How sweet." As Pam stepped aside to let the hunter take the attention, the queen looked Lilly up and down. Daintily, she lifted a hand.

"My name is Sophie Anne. You aren't due somewhere are you? I do love meeting friends of Eric and Pam."

Lillian took the cold, proffered hand gently before releasing it and letting her hand drift back to her side.

"Unfortunately, Sophie Anne, I do have somewhere to be, but it's nice to meet you." The hunter was careful to look everywhere, but Sophie's eyes, looking just to the left of them, which was a difficult thing to do while not appearing rude. The deference Pam and Eric showed this woman only further proved that this woman was not someone to mess with.

Sophie Anne sat straighter on the couch and pouted her red lips.

"Well your engagement can't be more important than having a little drink with a Queen, can it?" she inquired in a way reminiscent to a defiant young woman—however many hundreds of years back.

Eric stood up a little too fast, standing beside the hunter and smiling just enough in attempts to persuade the Queen otherwise. He spoke without betraying any of what happened between him and Lillian. "Forgive me, your highness, but my book keeper has had a very long day, and night. It wouldn't be fair of me to keep her any longer."

"Book keeper," Sophie Anne laughed, and suddenly enough to startled the three of them. "Please, Northman, you're as bad at faking sympathy as you are at keeping the truth from me—especially about something like this. She is no book keeper." She was the only one sitting yet had her influence on them. Eric and Pam were surprisingly shocked by the Queen's laughing answer.

"I have eyes everywhere around my Queendome—duh. So I do believe that sweet Lilly has been here all night, but I had snatched Eric myself today, didn't I? I'm sorry, my dear," she said to Lillian, her gaze hard as she tried to catch the blonde's. "Sometimes I have to remind Eric what it means to share."

Lillian's brows drew together slightly as she continued to refuse to meet the queen's gaze. There was no point lying to her when she clearly knew.

The idea of being "someone's" or being owned still rankled her, usually when it was referred to by someone else, but now was not the time to make a scene. She was stuck dead in the middle of a very delicate situation.

"Have you enjoyed your visit, your Majesty?" she asked.

The smile gracing Sophie Anne's lips widened. "It's been interesting to say the least. Sometimes one has to tighten the reins to make things run smoothly."

Pam's eyes were locked on the Queen and human before her. Her hands were clenched, though she was very careful to keep the rest of herself calm and relaxed.

Sophie Anne finally took a drink of her Bloody Mary, made a little face, but not complaining, returned to the subject of Eric's pet. She didn't tell them to quit standing on ceremony. She enjoyed it.

"State business had to be discussed, and the reminder of duties of a sheriff, but no talk of that."

Eric's annoyance was beginning to brim through his face. Lillian could feel it beside her.

"You know rumor does get around, especially after such a while. Except I dare say when I had first heard, I couldn't believe my ears. It's not like Eric at all. But there must be something special about you then…somewhere underneath. There has to be," she looked back at Lilly, her eyes roving up and down her body, this time quite lustfully. "What is it?"

Eric didn't answer, but he did turn his head to look at Lilly.

"Well if you aren't going to tell me, Northman, then take that as permission to find out for myself." And Sophie Anne stood swiftly as if she were a tiger licking her lips at her prey. But she wasn't able to cross the couple feet between her and Lilly when Eric suddenly stepped in front of her.

"No, she is mine," he confessed at last. And regardless if her being his Queen, or the fight he and Lilly had, he would stake his claim. He had once before to King D'Aubigne. Sophie Anne _hmph'_d furiously.

"And I am your Queen," she reminded him angrily, almost like a petulant child who wasn't getting her way. "Need I remind you, Northman, that you are a Sheriff here, and not just any, but mine!"

Lillian looked over at Pam and licked her lips as she quickly tried to think of a way out of this situation, but there didn't seem to be one, and with the way Sophie Anne was glaring at Eric, she could almost hear the Queen's fangs appearing.

Eric's were on the verge of popping out as well. Pam rolled her eyes where she still stood to the side watching.

"Yes you are, your highness, and I will serve you loyally as long I am allowed to reside in your territory, but with all due respect," Eric said tensely, reminding pointedly, "we are all bound by the Authority's law." And one of those laws involved stealing humans, which were already claimed.

Sophie Anne's nose flared at the law being flaunted in her face. "You dare to think I don't know what the Authority says?"

"No, Majesty, Eric was merely thinking out loud," Pam answered.

There was a tense moment when no one said anything. Those that were actually alive in the bar refused to breathe. Finally, Sophie Anne whirled and strode past the sheriff to the door.

"Remember, Eric, time is ticking." And then the Queen was gone.

Eric didn't watch her go. But he did look at Lilly, and look was all he did, his expression unreadable. Relief did wash over him, and the tenseness dissolved in his body, yet then the man just wordlessly stepped around her and made to go.

Lillian followed him. After all, she'd originally come to Fangtasia to talk to him and while that moment might not have been the best, she had to take her chance.

"I didn't mean for that to happen," she said once they were in the hall beside his office.

"Of course not," he answered without a beat, nor while missing a stride. As they entered his office, he didn't look back at her. "You were just minding your own business… But you fail to be inconspicuous as well."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, feeling her temper flare.

"You know what I mean," Eric answered with a slight growl, going around his desk. "Fortunately Sophie Anne isn't as duplicitous as other monarchs, but now she knows who you are, and she'll be curious. I'll have to be more vigilant so she doesn't find what you are."

Which could've meant a couple things.

Lilly watched him putter around the paperwork at his desk and sighed.

"Is this too much for you, Eric?" she asked him, her eyes following him. Her voice no longer held the previous heat, but rather sadness and a certain level of exhaustion. "Am I—what I am—in all sense of the words, too much for you?" It was hard to read his face. He paused his work, stared past it, as if thinking, but didn't answer.

"I came here to talk to you about last night and apologize for how both I and my family reacted last night, but should I? Do you even want me to?"

Eric finally looked up at her, at last emotion seeping through, then he looked away again. Her ability to be so sincere through calmness and earnestness always astonished him, made him stop doing whatever he was doing, gave him a little jump of the heart, so to speak. Her words calmed his heat, partially at least. He took in a tense breath by way of restraining it… But it he wasn't able to all the way.

"Humans always think that _sorry_ will fix things," he stated, as if he was talking to his paperwork and he and they had some sort of secret inside thing. Then he addressed Lilly. "I will need more than that to forgive and forget. And the forgetting part is difficult, Lilly, when there is one thing after another putting me in such a position."

"I'm not asking you to forget it, that would be pointless, but Eric, what do you mean one thing after another? You didn't even give Luke a chance last night. I'm not defending what he did, but how is what they did any different from what is always happening?" Lillian leaned back against the closed door behind her as if reclining casually would help the tension in the room.

"Josh was there too, and if you forget had agreed to trying to accept us and you acted like none of it had happened. Hell, we don't even know what happened."

"No, we don't," he said sharply. He dropped his paperwork and fixed his eyes on her and held it this time, taking several slow paces towards her. "And I haven't forgotten. I did believe Joshua. I gave him a chance. I decided to trust him on your word. And then he broke my trust by taking part in the scheme." The restraint Eric was trying to keep was steadily weakening the more he said, for his tone went louder, sharper.

"Who do you think I am supposed to believe? Chow, who is one of my trusted associates, or another man, on someone else's word?"

"Take my word," Lillian told him quickly, her own fire starting to flare as she pushed away from the door. "Luke is questionable sometimes. He'd con anyone, but Joshua does not lie, and that I know as truth, so if what he says is true, than that is what happened."

As she stopped in front of him, he stared down at her, an adamant barbarian who sadly saw mostly black and white. Lillian should've known it was becoming the tipping point with Eric because there was a growling inside his throat and he spoke deliberately.

"A man believes what he sees. Chow came to me with a face burned by one of them—it doesn't matter who. The point is that it happened. One of mine were injured," he didn't have to add, _By one of yours. _"And that for me is enough, Lillian."

"I see..." Lillian replied with a nod of her head, her voice once again calm. "So, if you had been attacked, you wouldn't have defended yourself either." The blonde stepped away from him. She was done with the conversation. Eric had a right to be angry, but he wasn't being logical or intelligent about it, rather he was letting emotions cloud his judgment.

Lilly turned and headed for the door. "Goodnight, Eric," she said without looking back and slipping through the door, closing it gently behind her.

Clenching his fists, Eric bore holes into the door with his eyes. But instead of following her, as was his first impulse, he stayed. Only as he turned back to his desk, he grabbed hold of the first thing he saw—a box of folders for files of receipts and things—and threw it viciously against the wall. The near roar he gave was loud enough for Lilly to hear behind her (it was muffled but she heard it), even as she was walking away from the office, and the throwing against the wall was definitely heard.

Eric didn't throw anything else but he stood seething and facing his desk. He felt only a smidge better, still livid. "Fuck this."

His emotions were clouding any straight thinking, because they had been bottled up for so long. The inherent way he usually went and thought about things had been suppressed for the sake of her—Lilly—in attempt to change himself, his mentality, he supposed, because he had been so enamored with her. And he still was, even though he was angry with her. The need and love for her would never be quenched, and it went deep and unexplainable into his being. It was just a feeling he couldn't quite decipher but knew was there regardless, underneath everything. But it was now that he was realizing how much what he felt for her had had him really fumbling before, when he was trying to change for her, to be more lenient with everything, in order to be with her. He had never really quite known how to go about it. It had been entirely too new—remembering humanity. He'd be cautious, hesitant. And now he thought that maybe it wasn't worth it, because it wouldn't be successful. It was just too hard for him.

He was also incredibly stubborn, and seeing other sides of things, when in his mind he had not one shred of doubt in his convictions, was almost impossible. He was very much of aware of it, too—this sort of inborn roadblock. But it being built into him was just the way it was, like the night being black and blood being red. It was how it would always be—that was his defense. Without this part of him, he didn't know who he'd be.

However, he was also aware of the problem it put him in—he didn't know what to do. He loved her. He would do anything and everything for her because she, along with Pam, had become his very everything (despite having never confessed this to her before). But Lilly made loving her hard. Of course, he made it hard for her too, but how much longer could they both have gone before realizing, really comprehending, how much their union was unorthodox, and how many problems it would pose, like it already begun.

There was also Svava. She surely couldn't stay under wraps for long. Lilly had once told him it was her still—she was still the same Lillian King he'd met those months ago when Godric had gone missing, and she would remain Lilly regardless of discovering this past that Eric and her had once shared. But if it had changed him upon it shedding light on their connection, it had to change her. He still remembered, like it was yesterday, what Svava had said about where she'd wanted to take him.

Eric took a seat at his desk, having not felt such uncertainty in decades.

As Lilly left the club, Pam watched her go and selfishly couldn't help but smirk. Outside, in the parking lot, there was someone who was getting out of a silver Camaro, but she was clearly too late.

Spotting Marylin, Lillian shook her head. She'd told her that she needed to go alone but completely understood why her friend had come. At least she thought she did.

"I'm done, want to head back? I'm a little tired," she told her quickly, dodging Marylin's gaze.

She heard with what finality Lilly said it all, and grew alarmed.

"What happened?" she asked. "What did he say to you?" She looked to Fangtasia and it's glowing cursive sign and felt edgy. "Did he—"

"Nothing. We decided to... agree to disagree." Lillian had cut her off because she didn't want Marylin jumping to conclusions. She also didn't know how to answer her questions, for she didn't know them. Eric and she had argued with no real agreement on an end result, the end effect being that neither knew where they stood.

But that wasn't enough for Marylin. She kept looking back and forth at the building and restraining herself from going in there. A few patrons stood outside talking, smoking, so they were human.

"So nothing is resolved? You left four hours ago and didn't even text me? Bobby even wanted to come but I got him to stay." Obviously the men would be worried too, if Lilly hadn't had a night shift at Merlotte's and wasn't seen afterwards. Bon Temps was small after all.

Lillian shook her head as she headed towards the black Mustang.

"No, nothing was resolved. To him, his man said that they caused trouble. That's good enough for him. I tried to explain to him that there could be two sides, but he wouldn't listen... Let's just—let's just leave it for now, okay? I have to think, and I also have Luke to deal with. They should have known better."

Marylin hesitated, watching her go, then conceded even though she wanted to know everything, even talk to the sheriff himself.

"Asshole," she said under her breath. "Okay let's head back. The two are supposed to be finishing their shift at the bar. Bobby could be there too." She went back to the Camaro and looked at her one last time. "You'll follow me?"

* * *

**A Sad Note: The rest of the chapters were lost due to technological problems. There is a Part II, though, recently posted. It contains a Recap of Part I, including a summary of that which was lost. My writing partner, Stephanie, and I apologize. But because Part II focuses primarily on Marylin and Lilly, who are out of Bon Temps, the transition will not be terrible. The only way both parts are tied is by Lilly and Eric's connection, and their relationship is explored-including, most importantly, Lily's other half, Svava. **

**Svava, is determined to bring Eric to Valhalla so he can become one of the Einherjar, and correct the mistake Godric made. Meanwhile, the Vampire Authority believes, "It is the blood of the divine that shall cast light upon the darkness." They kidnap Eric to lure Svava.**


End file.
